Planning Alone is Insufficient
by banneg
Summary: "Starting and running a country is clearly easier than raising a teenage girl!" – Miles Matheson to Bass Monroe on Charlotte's 15th birthday. The real adventure is in the everyday. A second visit to the world of Tell Me a Story.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own revolution or the characters I borrowed from the show. However, I enjoyed the characters I created so much and the AU world, I have decided to explore them a little more. I truly hope you enjoy this new visit to the world of the Monroe Republic. Please forgive any errors that result from going without a beta – I did the best I could to proof it myself.

Planning Alone is Insufficient

"Starting and running a country is clearly easier than raising a teenage girl!" – Miles Matheson to Bass Monroe on Charlotte's 15th birthday.

Chapter 1:

History had long been his favorite subject. In the beginning it had been the Civil War and the Militia uniforms reflected that love. But as the years forming the Republic stretched into decades of running a Republic, Bass developed a fascination with the founding fathers. Maybe it was all of the years living in a place that once hosted the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but if he were honest it was more likely his growing fascination with the idea of succession. He didn't believe he was old, but at 57, he knew he would need to continue to lead for at least another 10 years before Ross could step in to this role. Although recently he had begun to think Claire might be a stronger candidate for the role of his successor. It was, as he tossed these thoughts around his brain that Miles walked into the office and dropped into the chair opposite the desk. Bass smiled, before Miles had become a father again, any opportunity, even a morning meeting, was considered a good opportunity to have a whiskey, but it seems the years of marriage and 3 kids had changed those decisions.

Since it was obvious to Miles that Bass was not going to speak, he shook his head and dove in to the conversation they had been exploring for months. "I still think you're an idiot and this is one of the stupider ideas you have developed – and let's be honest that is saying something!"

Bass nodded, leaning forward in his chair. "Yes, but we have agreed leading this Republic into the future is going to take different skills than the ones we have, and needed, to start the republic after the lights went out. If it is going to be one of them then they need to see the people as their responsibility, they need to understand the world beyond this capital city. We're Marines. We had a better education than any of those frat boys in college."

Laughing Miles agreed, "Yes, but you had an academic scholarship and could easily have been one of those 'frat boys' if you hadn't decided to follow me. Besides, I thought when we asked Colonel Walsh to open the Military Academy at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. he was supposed to be teaching the future members of the Militia how to be Marines. We instill honor in our boys; we let him teach them the skills of Improvise, Adapt and Overcome; and we don't have to spend each summer roaming the countryside. We don't have to worry about keeping track of all of these wandering children we foolishly decided to have and we keep the stupid to a minimum." With that Miles lifted his legs and propped them on the corner of the desk, feeling very self-satisfied with today's argument.

"Brilliant! And this means you've discovered an argument that will convince either of our wives to allow ANY of their sons to leave home?" Bass said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shaking his head, "Hey, it was your stupid idea to situate it in Washington, D.C. I said, 'Philadelphia was the ideal location'."

"Miles, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian are the largest collections of information; maps, relics – everything. It was the ideal site. The same way we have schools to train doctors here and in Pittsburgh and Boston, because those were the cities that had concentrations of medical research. You remember Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs, 'You don't waste good'." Bass stood and moved toward the door. Reaching for the knob, "Stop your grumbling, we have a final briefing with Jeremy now then we leave in the morning. And get your feet off my desk." Twisting the knob, Bass called into the hall to have someone send Jeremy in, before returning to his desk.

Grudgingly Miles acknowledged, "Nora and the kids are really excited. I told them the middle two weeks would be spent at a beach. You did send the squad to identify and secure a beach house somewhere in North Carolina?"

With renewed excitement Bass dove into discussions of the preparations, "Yes, a messenger arrived back two days ago with confirmation that a beach house has been secured just south of Camp Lejeune. We spend the first 3 weeks traveling through Maryland and Virginia farmland, make a stop in Richmond and then head out toward the ocean. Everyone will love it! When we are done, we loop west across the state and into the farm lands in Tennessee, continue north through Kentucky and across Ohio, before we finally reach Pittsburgh. By the time we get back everyone will have a better understanding of life beyond these streets, and the people of the Republic will have had an opportunity to see us and communicate their needs. It also allows you to ensure the garrisons are administering the regions to your specifications." Just as he finished speaking, Bass noticed their company and stood moving toward the front of the desk. "Ah, Jeremy; you're in charge while we are gone and remember if you screw this up – we promote you."

Shaking his head at the idle threat he had been hearing for years, "Yes, I am very aware of the punishment for fucking up yours and Miles' little kingdom – you return to a mess and I get made a general. Seriously, this place will be fine and I have to agree that the citizens will love actually getting the chance to see and speak to their leaders. You might even decide to use some of the things that Charlotte and Nora learn when they are listening to their people."

"Hysterical." Miles deadpanned.

Bass chuckled and added; "I'm not ashamed to admit I listen to what my wife tells me to do. Charlotte is smart, creative, good at reading people and, since she is frequently right, I look smart; plus she lets me have sex with her whenever I want." Bass ducked quickly to avoid the paperweight that Miles chucked at his head, before laughing and exiting the room. Moments later he popped his head back into the doorframe and added, "In fact that is where I am going right now!" then Bass quickly moved down the hallway, hearing Miles curse him until he was halfway up the stairs.

Later that afternoon, after more effort than he anticipated, Bass finally found Charlotte reading to the children in the courtyard. From the column Bass was leaning against he could enjoy the view of his and Miles' children learning about the places they would be visiting. Charlotte had an old history book on her lap and a hand drawn map of the republic lying next to her on the bench. Danielle appeared to be more interested in entertaining her younger sister Maddie and her Aunt Eve. Bass grinned at the two three year-olds that were attempting to decorate Danielle's golden blonde locks with a crown of flowers. The smiles on all three girls' faces were wide and genuine. At 12 and a ½, as Danielle frequently corrected him, she was torn between trying to look grown up and genuinely loving playing with the younger children. Charlotte was sure she would make a wonderful doctor when she grew into adulthood, always saying she had an ability to put children at ease. Claire and Ross sat with rapt attention to their mother's words, both sponges to any opportunity to experience something new. Bass watched as Ross interrupted his mother for the 5th time, since he arrived, to ask a question about something she had read. Claire simply listened to Charlotte and scribbled with her pencil in a notebook that she carried everywhere. It wasn't until the wrestling match broke out between Marcus, Nate, Noah and Jake that Bass decided to intervene. Calling out as he stepped forward, "Nate, Noah shouldn't you be listening to your mother?" The twins immediately stopped at the sound of their father's voice, which allowed Marcus and Jake to each get in a final swing before stopping as well. Bass shook his head at the boys, they were wild and rambunctious and so close in age that they were inseparable. Barely 5 months after Marcus was born to Nora, Charlotte had given birth to their boys – Nate and Noah; by that point Nora was already pregnant again and so Marcus' little brother Jake was only 11 months younger. Four boys in less than 12 months had completely altered how they approached parenting. They had become a team of four adults against seven wild offspring and eventually against nine when the little girls arrived.

Deciding that she had clearly covered all that they intended to listen to for the day, Charlotte closed her book, before speaking to the children, "Ok, that is it for today. Danielle and Claire will take you all to the kitchen for a snack." She stood and watched the boys trample over each other to get to the door as Claire tried to control them, Danielle and her two hairdressers gathered up their things and moved toward the door as well. As each of the three of them passed by Bass they stopped for a kiss on the crown of their heads.

After the door shut behind the cookie monsters, Bass looked back at his beautiful wife. "So Charlotte, I was wondering if you had plans for this afternoon?"

Charlotte allowed herself to sink into Bass' embrace and smiled up at him. "What? Do you have a suggestion for how I might spend my time? I was going to check the final preparations for our trip."

Bass started to suck on the spot just below ear, before he whispered, "Well, it will be months and months before we get to spend any time in our big soft bed again… I just thought we should really make a little use of it before we go."

Shaking her head, Charlotte turned in his arms and patted his chest, "You've been using that excuse for the last two weeks, but I suppose I would enjoy a nap." She laughed at his dejected look, before taking his hand and leading him into the house and toward their bedroom.

The door had barely closed, when Bass began stripping her clothes off her body between kisses. He was so focused on getting her naked it took a moment to realize that Charlotte was also, quickly attempting to remove his clothes. Pulling away from her lips long enough for her to lift his shirt off, Bass used the opportunity to walk backward toward the bed. He was a step away before he turned her around and tossed her upon the bed. Reaching for her khakis, he slid them down her body and began kissing up the inside of her calf. Charlotte lolled her head back and let her eyes drift closed as Bass worked up the inside of her thigh. The scruff of his beard against the sensitive skin gave her shivers and when his mouth closed over her and began to suck a jolt registered through her body. She could feel his smile and the vibrations of his moan at her wet core. It was only moments later that she arched her back off the bed and exploded in pleasure.

Bass continued to lick and suck at her wet flesh while she rode out her release, before he kissed his way up her body and thrust into her welcoming center. He didn't last long, and as he felt her begin to quake again, Bass pulled out and finished himself off, subsequently collapsing on her side. He pulled her up onto the pillows and positioned the cover over them, so they could both enjoy the nap she suggested.


	2. Chapter 2

**A short chapter tonight ****–**** I just felt a little focus on family was in order. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2: Road Trip!

Danielle stood lookout at the door and held her finger to her lips as Claire helped corral the assault team at the doors to the two rooms. Ross had gotten the hoard from the 'bunkroom' – as they had dubbed the room that the twins shared with their 'cousins' at the opposite end of the hall, and hurried them past the snoozing guard. It had been easy to sneak into the nursery that lay between their parents and grandparent's room, it had been empty since Eve and Maddie had been moved down the hall to share a room. "Ok," Claire began, "the sooner they wake up the sooner we begin our adventure. You know the plan – quietly enter, sneak toward the bed then dive and jump up and down until they wake up. Is everybody ready?" She scanned the two teams and saw their eager smiles and bobbing heads, "Great! On the count of three..." Using her fingers, Claire counted off the numbers then pointed go to her siblings, aunt and uncles. As the two doors silently slid open, Claire backed aside, stepping toward Danielle. After the attack parties were out of sight Danielle tapped her shoulder and they both ran giggling toward their room. As they crossed into their room Claire smiled in pride, "The best plans are ones that no one knows we are involved in!" Danielle laughed and headed toward the closet to select the perfect clothes for a trip surrounded by handsome Militia members.

From under the covers Bass heard the less than successful efforts of Nate and Noah to sneak up and surprise them. He slid an arm around Charlotte so they didn't jump on their mother and bit his tongue trying to aid in their successful storming of the bed. Moments later he felt the mattress behind him dip, just as Ross launched Maddie into the air and onto the bottom of the bed. In stunned surprise, Bass watched through his half lids as the curls and squirming body of his three year-old bounced back up. Fearing she would fall backward toward the baseboard, he lunged upward and captured her in the circle of his arms. His speedy movement caused the twins to land on their mother when they dove forward instead of on him like they had planned. At this point the entire crew erupted into laughter, as Charlotte attempted to hook an arm around each boy.

The other landing party had been far quieter and as Marcus and Jake helped Eve climb onto the end of the bed, they attempted to control their giggles at their fathers loud snoring. After positioning their sister, they each took one side of the king sized bed. Moments later Nora and Miles were covered in flailing arms and legs, and screaming and giggling children as they attempted to tickle them awake. Groaning Miles scratchily voiced, "God, I'm too old for this…" before the final word escaped his lips Nora slapped a hand over his mouth. Their three terrors laughed at their mother silencing of their father, not realizing he had taken it as an opportunity to kiss and then lick the palm of her hand. Miles rounded up the three and positioned them between their parents, before the questions started.

"When do we leave?" Jake probed.

"I can ride, can't I please have a horse for the trip?" begged Marcus.

Miles rolled his eyes at the request that had been on a loop since they had told the children about the trip.

Employing her saddest saucer eyes Eve went in for the kill, "Daddy can't Tank please come? He's a good kitty."

Afraid Miles would buckle for his princess; Nora gently placed her hand on her daughter's cheek and turned her face. "No, sweetie – Tank needs to stay here with his mommy and daddy."

Turning on the water works and puffing out her lip, "But, Dannie and Claire want their kitties, too!"

"Alright," interrupted Bass from the door. "Everyone to their room and dress we need to go. Maddie you and Eve find Dannie and Claire, and then tell them to help you get ready to go." The three kids jumped off the bed and push around Bass on their way to their rooms. After the room had emptied out, Charlotte snuck up behind her husband and wove her arms around his waist. Resting her head on his back, she gave a contented moan. Bass laughed at Miles' face, but decided to let him off the hook for this discomfort with Charlotte's behavior and instead rip him on the way Eve was playing the founder of the Militia; "You would have totally buckled under to her. How would we have cared for a cat on a road trip? And then I would have had to say yes to bringing Maddie's cat, too." Bass accused.

Shaking his head, Miles responded, "I totally would have held strong."

From behind Bass, Charlotte choked back a laugh, "Oh yeah, you would have totally held firm. Just like you never broke the rules to make me happy."

With that Nora doubled over in laughter; and Miles looked in stunned silence at his wife. Lifting her head, Nora smiled up at her love and spit out, "I love you, but as firm as you are with raising our sons and making them follow rules; you are completely incapable of refusing either of your daughters. If you were, I wouldn't have grown up under this roof."

Miles bent and kissed his wife before he turned to get out of bed. As he reached for a robe, he heard Charlotte groan, "Oh, gross" and saw her body give an exaggerated shake, "you're naked. God, I can't un-see that!" Charlotte turned her body before he slipped out from under the bed covers.

Shaking his head, "Please, like I'm supposed to believe you got those six kids by sleeping fully clothed. Oh, shit! I need a drink to get that mental picture out of my head."

Chiming in on the fun, Nora added, "I prefer my sexy husband sleep naked." Miles bent over and kissed her in thanks.

Making surprisingly childish choking noises, Charlotte scurried back into her room to the tune of her husband's laughter.

Miles bumped into Bass' shoulder and motioned him toward the door, "if you are still set on this let's get a move on."

Later that morning, the carriage packed with books, toys and a picnic basket awaited the laughing children. Charlotte and Nora took seats in the carriage, as Maddie and Eve were handed up. Pushing, Nate, Noah and Jake scampered up the side wheel and over the back angling for their preferred seat – a second level bumper that spanned the width of the carriage. It had been a suggestion of Ben's when the kids had started to greatly outnumber the adults. The ingenious third seat faced backward and allowed the boys to be contained while still having the ideal, and completely identical view.

Trying one final time, Marcus approached his father, "I could ride, if you would just give me a horse."

Miles shook his head. "Determined as you are; you are 6 you are not riding for hours until we reach our first stop."

Ducking away as his father attempted to ruffle his hair, "Can I at least ride in the wagon with the supplies?"

Shaking his head "No, but if you help your mother, I will let you ride a portion of each day with me." Marcus hugged his father and ran to get in the open carriage with the others.

At the front of the convoy Bass held the reins and steadied Skyfire as Ross mounted his dark chestnut bay. Before Ross was even fully settled, Bass noticed Danielle as she gazed up into the eyes of a young Militia soldier. Tilting her head, Danielle's voice was smooth as she asked, "If you wouldn't mind I would love the help getting up onto Shooting Star."

Continuing to stare down at the beautiful young girl, the soldier - a boy of maybe 20 - looked down at Bass' little flirt and asked, "How old are you?"

In stunned silence, Bass heard her reply, "I'm almost 14." Dropping the reins, Bass charged toward his little girl and angled in between her and the Militia soldier before he spoke, "She won't be 14 for another year and a half, and you have just been reassigned to the border with the Plains Nation."

With a whine, "Daddy, you can't do that. He might have parents here. He was just helping me."

Grumbling Bass looked at the scared boy, "Go inside and tell them you need a reassignment. I will help my own little girl." The boy saluted and nearly ran for the doors. Bass turned to his daughter and taking her by the waist, he tossed her up onto her black mare. As he shook his head, Bass walked toward his own horse. Beside Traveler, Miles sat astride Devil's Advocate talking to Claire as she stroked the mane of her horse Lucky girl. He was explaining the first of their stops, just west of the city – the community of Lancaster. Bass listened as Miles talked of the Amish to his inquisitive, serious daughter and thanked heaven that she had not discovered boys like her sister.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Even with the wagons and carriages the travel to Lancaster had been fairly quick taking just over 2 hours to go the nearly 70 miles. In the early years of the Republic, Bass had suggested that they foster a relationship with the Amish, figuring they had a lot to learn and an available teacher; so it seemed appropriate that their first stop be in this community. The Amish weren't so much a part of the republic as a friendly neighbor that co-existed inside the republic. When they arrived Miles took the boys to the Blacksmith, confident the fire and pounding of metal could entertain them, while Bass introduced Claire to the Council of Elders. As the 4 younger boys tore off toward the forge, Ross kept pace with his grandfather and mulled the moment to ask his question. Finally, as he realized his grandpa Miles could wait an eternity without speaking, so Ross paused and choked out his words, "Why did dad send me with the little boys?" Barely hesitating before he grumbled, "I'm not little like them" and kicked a rock across the road.

Miles slowed his steps and grinned before measuring his words, "No… you're not little, but your dad and I run this country together because it takes a lot of work and a wide range of skills. He is the president and I am the general of the militia. Regardless of what you want to do and who leads the republic when you are older, you need to understand what roles are essential in keeping this country together. Without a blacksmith there would be no shoes for the horses we ride, no swords for the militia to protect our borders with and a million other metal items would not exist. Your brothers and cousins will think this cool, because it is a big man with large arms hammering out molten metal. You should think this is interesting because leaders know that every person helps this country succeed." With a pat to his grandson's back, Miles continued forward and reached to open the door. Greeting the large dark haired man with a handshake and a smile, Miles started to introduce the younger visitors.

Ross stood considering the things his grandfather had said, he wanted his dad to be proud of him – if this was what his dad wanted him to learn he would. Entering the forge, Ross watched quietly as Nate and Noah battled with two dull looking broad swords, and Marcus tried to swing the hammer against a clearly cold piece of metal. It wasn't until Jake made for the furnace and Miles dove to capture his devil that Ross stepped forward to introduce himself with all the composure he could muster, "Hello, I am Ross Monroe and I appreciate you teaching me today…"

Across town -

Bass peeked over his shoulder at Claire; she had taken a seat in a back corner with her notebook and listened while her father had discussed trade of goods with the community. He smiled then turned and shook the council members' hands before heading toward the door. Quickly Claire stepped into line and as they passed through the entry Bass spoke, "What did you hear?"

Claire looked at her father and smiled, "They are interested in trading baked goods and milk for fruit from our southern region. They are too far north to grow any fruit other than berries, cherries and apples. Those are fine, but they are interested in other options, and have something we could use."

Smiling Bass nodded, "Excellent. Should we?"

Confused Claire stumbled before asking, "I thought your handshake meant you agreed to the deal?" She paused; waiting for his response, but when he said nothing she cocked her head and attempted to answer her own question. "You reached an agreement because they are not a part of the Republic. We have bakeries and milk, but we need a good relationship, so we trade to foster friendship?"

Bass slid his arm around his daughter and pulled her toward him, "You are so very much like your mother. Yes! We want a good relationship with them, technically they don't need us – they only trade to keep a positive relationship with us, but it acts as a sign of respect that we are both committed to co-existing. It is better to have friends, even if you never need them for anything specific." Watching his daughter nod, Bass decided the day's lesson was over and headed toward the pre-selected picnic spot. The acres of wheat fields they passed along the walk looked green waving in the early summer breeze. As they got closer, Claire took off in a run toward her mother to share all the details of the meeting. Bass smiled at the visual before him. Charlotte sat in the center of a wide blanket with Nora and a spread of tasty picnic foods. Off to the side Danielle laughed as she braided the hair of her sister and watched little Eve dance in circles. Before he could reach his wife, Charlotte smiled up at him and his heart thudded faster at her beauty. He smiled back, but then noticed her smile fade at something behind him. Spinning around and pulling his sword prepared to protect what was his, Bass stopped confused at the sight.

Charging past her husband, Charlotte rounded on her father and began screaming, "What were you thinking! You always say, 'keep the stupid to a minimum'. What kind of idiot do you need to be to give 3 six year-olds and a 5 year-old, that spend most of their days rolling around the ground wrestling, swords?"

Before she could attack her father any further, Nora had commandeered the swords from all four boys and stormed by her husband, "Don't expect sex tonight. I did not go through months of getting fat and hours of childbirth so you could teach them to kill each other."

Chorus of "Aww, Mom!" and "Wait grandpa said we could have those!" were met with looks from both Nora and Charlotte that silenced their whining. Charlotte rounded on her husband, "Did you know about this?"

Raising his hands is submission Bass started to deny anything, only for Miles to offer his help, "Of course he knew. Besides there dull, even those 4 can't hurt each other with dull swords."

Shaking his head Bass muttered, "Great, brother… thanks for nothing. Now, I'm not having sex either."

Miles smiled at that; if he was going to have to suffer at least Bass would too.

Nora turned around and handed the dummy blades to the nearest Militia member, "Put these away until they are at least 12. And start packing up, we are leaving as soon as the children eat." She then proceeded to the blanket followed by 2 sad looking little boys.

Charlotte looked at her two younger sons and pointed to the blanket. Not wanting to get in more trouble they both ran to join their partners in crime. Standing beyond the fray, Ross stood holding a sword that looked far less dull than his brothers' swords, with a look of uncertainty.

Bass placed a hand on her shoulder and started to explain, "Charlotte, he is almost 11. Miles and I thought it was time to teach him some beginning skills to defend himself." He removed his hand, realizing his immediate mistake, "Ok, so that was totally something you and I should have discussed."

She turned and started toward the blankets before adding, "Fine, if you and my father have discussed this he can keep the sword. But if anyone loses a body part, you do too!"

Ross grinned and pumped his fist before seeing his father shiver in fear and his grandfather slap him on the back and laugh. He loved that he got to keep his sword; but he had to agree his mom could be scary.

They had finished lunch and were an hour into their travel toward Westminster, Maryland, when Bass started to quiz Ross on what he had learned during his morning with his grandfather. With a wide smile, Ross began recounting all of the details of how very important a blacksmith was to the Republic's survival. To Ross' left rode Claire, listening to her brother recount his morning. Bass could see her itching to take notes, but knowing she could not remove her hands from the reins. After a few moments, Claire started to pepper questions toward her brother and Bass looked forward toward where Miles led the travelling column. He seemed strangely withdrawn and quiet, even by Miles' standards. Deciding to investigate, Bass pressed his heal into the flank of Traveler and galloped forward to ride alongside his brother. "Do you want to talk?"

"Am I a teenage girl?" Miles bit back.

Bass gave a hearty laugh, "If you keep pouting I might mistake you for one." He waited a couple of miles, watching as the acres of wheat gave way to vegetable fields as they moved toward the river ahead.

When it seemed Bass would have to press further to discover the issue, Miles finally softly spoke, "I appreciate the wide berth around Baltimore." Both men rode in silence for another few minutes before he uttered, "It has been so many years since Baltimore, but I still fear the day I will have to explain that to one of my boys. I worry about them hearing someone call me the Butcher of Baltimore and the look that will be on their faces. Nothing better in the world than being idolized by your sons, especially at our age; I mean, you realize we are just lucky to have families. I don't think I ever thought I would be this fortunate – this blessed. I figured Charlotte was enough – God knows she was more than I deserved. But now I have these little three… I don't want them to wake up one day and hate me for what we had to do."

It was a while before Bass could respond – he had demons of his own. "I think – at least I hope – that that last part is the key. It was what we had to do. The world was falling apart and we stepped up to make it better, to keep everything from burning. When they get older, we will have to tell them. We will explain it together, just like we have always done everything else – brothers for life."

Dipping his head for a moment, Miles considered his friends words. Together – they had survived all these years, because they worked together; life as a family was good, because they were together; and Bass was right they would find a way to explain their choices to their children together.

After the conversation, they rode in silence the rest of the way to the inn in Westminster. The guards they had sent ahead had arranged for rooms and they were greeted by representatives of the town. Miles and Bass watched as Charlotte and Nora became the stars of the show; thanking the town's children for the flowers they were given and complimenting the town leaders on the beautifully maintained buildings. Instructing the guards to escort the children to the rooms, Bass and Miles joined their wives and made their way to the town meeting to listen to the concerns the town people came to voice – better to listen first then have the opportunity to enjoy dinner and family time undisturbed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hopefully you are all enjoying the daily lives of our 'not so little' family. I appreciate review and would love to hear your thoughts. It will likely not be until Friday before I can update again, but I will try.**

Chapter 4

Bass smiled and leaned in to kiss Charlotte on the side of the head, they had been riding together in the carriage for the last hour with the youngest children. "Have you decided what you want to see first?"

Leaning into his shoulder and breathing in deeply, Charlotte smiled and pondered her options. "Well… Colonel Walsh's wife recommended we start with the Artifact Walls in the Mall Entrance Corridor at the American History Museum. Did you know it is like a sample of all the different things on display? I figure we could let the kids look and decide what interests them. She said it was a real treat when they had found a way into the building. She had been to see all the Smithsonian Museums and the Capital before the blackout. She said it was a school field trip." The excitement in her eyes, Charlotte looked up at Bass and silently questioned if he had ever seen the thing she was about to see.

Grinning at her enthusiasm, Bass nodded at her silent question before explaining. "Miles and I went on our school field trip to DC as 8th graders. Promise you won't hold it against me, but I spent most of the time chasing this girl both Miles and I thought was hot – in reality she had just developed earlier than the rest of the girls in our class. In fact, it wasn't until we went by the Vietnam Memorial that Miles and I finally started taking any of it seriously. That is a really powerful place. I think it was what made Miles decide he wanted to join the Marines."

Shaking her head, Charlotte patted Bass' thigh before responding, "I'm neither mad nor surprised that you and my father were interested in girls. Actually, I only surprised it wasn't earlier than 8th grade – whatever that is…". They rode in silence for a while longer; more entertained by their children's excitement at all the building.

The party came to a stop in front of a large white house covered in ivy and climbing vines, with an overgrown field of grass between the fence and the building. Miles, riding double with Marcus, and Nora rounded their horses back toward the carriage, followed by Ross, Danni and Claire. Bass leaned over and took Charlotte's lower lip into a slow kiss before he rose off the seat. Questioningly, Charlotte watched as Nora slid off the borrowed horse and Bass mounted traveler. Miles waited until Nora was stepping into the carriage before he approached the side of the carriage and swatted her rump. "Bass and I are headed to the Capital building for a meeting at the Militia Academy with Colonel Walsh, so this is where we will leave you." He then passed Marcus into the carriage before instructing two members of the Militia guard to take the wagon to the Adams hotel across the street.

After watching their husbands ride off, the carriage continued on to the Mall area to the two museums they intended to visit. The wide grassy area between the buildings was shockingly empty. As if sensing the question, the leader of the presidential guard smiled and explained, "The generals had the Mall cleared and the buildings emptied to ensure everyone could enjoy the visit safely." The carriage had barely stopped when the boys exploded down onto the grass and chased after Ross, who had already tied off his horse and was charging off into the weeds.

Nora and Charlotte gave them half an hour to run around and burn off their energy before they gave into their own excitement and attempted to corral their children while the Militia Guards accessed the building. The boys tore up the stairs, Claire and Danni following, each with the hand of one of the little girls. When they crossed into the building they laughed at the site before them. The children showed their interest by where they stood. Maddie and Eve had wiggled away from the twins and were staring up at a dress marked 'Gowns of the First Ladies'. Seeing their mothers they began banging on the glass chanting, "Pretty princess dresses!" in unison. Barely two feet away stood Claire and Danni drooling over jewels that made Nora and Charlotte perk up.

The screams from across the room drew their attention, "Dinosaurs! Rooms and rooms of Dinosaurs!" Jake yelled. "Mummies from Egypt – dad read us a book about Egypt, you have to let us see those." Begged Nate and Noah. "No, I want to see the ocean animals. This says there are pictures and models." Demanded Marcus.

Moving toward the chanting, Charlotte noticed that Ross had moved off to himself near a separate exhibit marked 'Electricity: Lighting a Revolution'. Slipping her arm around her son, Charlotte quietly asked, "So what interests you?"

"This exhibition it explains how Thomas Edison's incandescent electric light bulb works. How electricity works. And it shows other inventions that people developed after the creation of the light bulb." Ross stopped talking, but she didn't immediately interrupt his thinking. When he continued she was not surprised, "I figured, if I understood how he got electricity to work in the first place, maybe we could discover how to turn it back on."

Considering her son's words, Charlotte looked at the display designed to entice visitors to seek out the room. She had been a small child when the lights had gone out, with vague memories of TV princess cartoons and ceiling lights that weren't candles. Her children's only experience with electricity was on Christmas morning when Uncle Ben used the pendent to light the Christmas tree as a 'gift' from Santa. What she did know was that two pendants would never return electricity to the world, but clearly her curious son had been listening to Uncle Ben discuss his scientific experiments. "Why don't you take one of the guards and go see what his has to offer? You can join us in the Dinosaur hall when you are done." Ross hugged his mother, before approaching one of the guards and starting off toward the 2nd floor.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the Mall, Miles and Bass started up the steps of the former Capital building which now served as classrooms for their Military Academy. Colonel Walsh had decided the location had easy access to the National Archives with the limitless collection of knowledge, and the former Senate and House office buildings that had been converted to dorms. As they entered the Rotunda, they were greeted by the senior officers and current class of recruits standing in formation. Miles saluted and gave the order to stand at ease, before Colonel Walsh approached. Despite the public setting, Miles gave his longtime friend a hug and Bass slapped his back before the three proceeded toward his offices.

While Miles poured a whiskey, Bass took the chair behind the desk and James leaned on the windowsill crossing his legs before him. Miles turned around and shook his head at the sight before him. "You're dick, Bass." Waving his arm toward James, "you do realize this is his office?"

Shaking his head, James smiled at the two, "Let it go Miles. I could care less where he sits. Besides this whole activity is his party."

Rolling his eyes Bass began to thumb through the files on the desk, before asking, "How many candidates did you find?"

"Altogether, there are 20 choices. I eliminated the rest of the 4th year students based on your qualifications." James explained.

Confused, Miles asked "What qualifications? How could hard could it be to find two cadets to babysit my granddaughters on this trip."

Removing a letter from his breast pocket Colonel Walsh began reading, "The ideal candidate needs to be in the top 20% of the class in hand to hand combat, should understand tracking, must improvise well and should be considered attractive to a teenage girl." The smirk on James face was priceless as he read the final item.

Nearly choking on the whiskey, Miles asked, "Why would you be stupid enough to ask for a cadet that was attractive to a teenage girl? The rest I can figure out – hand to hand combat to protect Danni and Claire, tracking because in case the two of them decide to take an adventure – oh, in fairness really it would just be Danni that would drift off. But, what is the purpose of them being attractive?"

Placing the file down on the desk, Bass looked up at his friend with a smirk, "Do you not remember your wife as a teenager? Cuz' I do! She spent most of her time either trying to make you jealous by flirting with any boy that crossed her path or she was throwing herself at you from the age of 13, until you gave up and married her at 22. I figure if we find two cute cadets then Danni and Claire will be occupied flirting with them instead of any local boy that crosses their paths. Plus, the ones that we select will pay just enough attention to keep them interested. It's the perfect plan."

Miles was truly disgusted with the self-satisfied grin that spread across his brother's face. But an hour later after they had eliminated 12 of the candidates between them, he was starting to wonder if the smile was a sign of insanity. As he refilled his drink the next two candidates entered. Both stood at attention waiting to be acknowledged. Miles looked them over, "18 my ass." He grumbled. Neither boy moved – a point for them, but the blonde had to be over 6 feet tall and looked like he could have played quarterback for a high school football team before the blackout. It was like looking at Bass 30 years ago, all charm and muscle and hormones. The dark haired cadet would likely have starred in one of those boy bands, with that floppy hair – clearly he had missed a mandatory haircut or three. Bass seemed unfazed by the unacceptable cadets standing in front of them.

Bass began the interview just as Miles was about to dismiss them, "Names?"

With clipped responses they each answered, "John Grant" answered the boy band member; "Robert Pike" replied mister varsity.

Clearly not understanding that they were poor choices from Miles' perspective, Bass continued "Do you understand the assignment?" the two nodded. "So, what makes you qualified to protect my princesses?"

Robert stepped forward and looked directly into Bass' eyes. "I have two sisters – 13 and 15. My best idiot best friend has three sisters 8, 10 and 12."

Bass turned to Miles with a smirk and laughed before raising a brow in silent question. Miles considered the two standing in front of him before speaking. "My granddaughters are very special to me."

"Yes General Matheson." They chorused.

Miles nodded and James stood up from his perch on the sill. "Mr. Pike, Mr. Grant pack your things – you've been selected to serve as private guard to the president's daughters. You are excused." The boys saluted and exited the door. Moments later the three aging soldiers heard the two young bucks celebrating their luck in the hall before running off to gather their things. James laughed. "Not a bad choice. They're smart, creative cadets. They get into just enough mischief to interest a girl. Thinking about it they actually kind of remind me of the two of you when you entered basic. I remembering wondering how I would ever turn you into real Marines when all you cared about were girls and each other. Seems to have worked out pretty well from this vantage point…


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry I was "gone" all week with work. I hope you enjoy the update, and ask that you please forgive my 'un-beta'd' mistakes. I hope to do a little writing again tomorrow and I LOVE reading reviews!

Chapter 5:

Standing next to the stone monument that guarded miles of crop fields, Bass' shoulders slumped in sadness. Wanting to offer comfort, Charlotte slowly approached to lay her head on his strong back and weave her arms around him. Feeling him lean into her embrace, taking comfort in her understanding, she waited for him to speak. Minutes past before his choked words were softly released into the air, "Crops?" As his voice broke, Charlotte slowly ghosted the fingers of one hand up his side and angled his face back to her. "I know what you are going to say…I mean, I get that this area represents hundreds of acres of growing land in a warm climate, but this is hallowed ground, two Civil War battles were fought here. Bull Run was the start of a critical time in history, everything that came after that moment was built on the idea that the ideals of freedom were more important than the ideas and opinions of one state – the whole became more powerful than the parts."

Smiling at her sad husband Charlotte pondered the best way to deal with his disappointment. Pointing up at the stone carving she asked, "Tell me about him. Clearly he mattered, who was he? Why did they dedicate a statue to him?"

Turning, Bass slid an arm over her shoulder and animatedly began to tell the story of Stonewall Jackson.

From a distance, Miles looked on at his best friend and realized that he needed a little alone time. It had taken barely an hour to make the trip to Manassas and that had been among Bass' arguments for stopping, something about spectators going out to watch the battle with picnic baskets and being shocked to be confronted by the realities of war and the retreat of an unprepared Union army. Sounded stupid to him, but Bass had loved all this history shit since they were little kids – it was probably why he had adapted better than most when the blackout happened. Turning to the guards, "Two of you stay here with Lucky Girl and Traveler and the rest of us will continue on toward Richmond. We'll either meet you along the road or at the Omni Richmond hotel downtown." The Militia guard leader saluted and turned to coordinate the effort. "Alright, Claire mount up. Ross give Danni your horse and you can ride mine; I'll ride in the carriage with Nora and the rest of the children." Ross debated hugging his grandfather for the use of Devil's Advocate, but as he looked around at all the Militia guards, he questioned if it would make him look like a little kid, so instead he nodded agreement and moved toward the horse.

It was then that Miles heard the words cooed from over his shoulder, "John… Grant is it? Could you help me, I've never ridden Skyfire before." Miles nearly shook with anger and disgust, this idea of Bass' was stupid. Turning Miles stormed over toward Danni and grabbed her waist from behind nearly tossing her onto the waiting horse. "Danielle, Lance Corporal Grant has responsibilities to guard you. You are completely capable of mounting a horse and you will address him as Lance Corporal Grant." Turning to the smirking young solider Miles barked, "Get on your horse, we have ground to cover." With a salute and a 'yes, sir' John turned and quickly moved toward his horse.

Meanwhile Nora laughed as she watched Claire be gently lifted onto her horse by Robert on the opposite side of the carriage. Clearly watching these two working to manipulate their father and grandfather was going to be a good show and give both men grey hair. Turning to her little girl, "Eve, sweetie you stay daddy's princess for a long time." Eve smiled and ran to her father clutching his leg and looking up with hero worship. Miles picked her up and cuddled his little girl, "You would never be so mean as to flirt with boys." With her toothy grin, Eve kissed her father's cheek, "Boys are yucky!" Miles smiled and hugged her tighter before walking toward his wife, "Yes, sweetie! Boys are very yucky."

Handing her up to her mother, Miles stepped up into the carriage and gave the signal to depart. "Alright, I am dying to hear all about your favorite parts of the museum yesterday." Hearing six voices compete to pepper him with all of the amazing things they saw, Miles attempted to regain control, "Ok, youngest to oldest – Eve then Maddie."

Looking at each other the two smiled and chorused, "Pretty dresses!" to the laughter of everyone.

Lagging a respectable distance behind Danni and Claire, John through a push toward Robert's shoulder as he rode up alongside, "I saw you helping Claire onto that horse. How is it I got yelled at by the scariest man on the planet, and you got ignored?"

Chuckling, "It could be because the twin you are responsible for is far less subtle than the one I am assigned to guard, or it could be because the general knows, that I know they're 12, but my best guess is that you look less trustworthy than me."

Shaking his head, John rolled his eyes and replied, "You realize I have sisters as well? And one of them is 12. Danni is sweet with her unmistakable attempts to flirt with me, but let's be honest they are both still little girls."

Putting an arm out and stopping his best friend Robert responded, "Don't ever let them hear you say that. I like this duty. We got to 'graduate' from the academy and were given ranks, long before we earned them and my parents will benefit from the money I send them. If keeping this duty means letting those two practice flirting with us then that is what we do." Not wanting to fall too far back, Robert galloped forward and pulled alongside the giggling sisters. "So ladies, what was your favorite part of the trip to the museums?"

A few miles back, Bass had walked hand in hand with Charlotte toward the heavily wooded area that led in the direction of Youngs Branch creek. Just below Chinn Ridge they approached the shale bank that led down to the water. Clearly the heavy winter snow and cool temperatures had impacted the water level, as it appeared far deeper than a creek should be. Smiling down at his wife, Bass captured her waist in his arms and began nuzzling her neck. As his lips slowly worked up the column of her neck and gently bit into her ear lobe, his hands floated up her flat stomach and cupped her heavy breasts. As she melted back into his hold, Bass whispered into her ear, "What do you think about a swim?"

With an amused snicker she responded, "I think you deserve some sort of award for fooling Miles into taking everyone and leaving me to 'comfort' you at your extreme sadness to see the battle field gone."

Snorting Bass replied, "It's called an Oscar and I was good, I particularly thought the slumped shoulders were a nice touch, but you seemed more than willing to play along."

"Damn right! If I thought it would give me a little alone time with my sexy husband, and a chance at some undisturbed sex, I would do just about anything." Charlotte responded swatting his chest. "We have 6 children and we are traveling with my father, my best friend, their three children, an entire Militia squad... and now it seems two teenage boys that you still haven't explained."

"If I explain my brilliant idea, can we skinny dip?" Bass' hopeful grin gave him the look of a much younger man. When she bobbed her head, Bass decided to push his luck and began to slip the buttons from the holes down her shirt. "Can we skinny dip first?" he pleaded as he returned his lips to the crook in her neck and suckled on the perfect spot to elicit a long moan.

Batting his hands away, "Undress yourself! I am only agreeing to this because you have magic lips." Charlotte wiggled her way out of her jeans and shrugged her shirt off her shoulders, before turning to watch her husband divest himself of his clothes. Noticing his hands had stopped moving, Charlotte looked up and saw the dark burning in his eyes. Hoping to move him along, Charlotte unhooked her bra letting it fall to the ground and turned before bending over to shimmy out of her panties.

Noting her intentional attempt to tease him with a clear view of her perfect ass, Bass swatted her behind with his open palm. "You better run, because when I catch you I am going to show you exactly what your temptress act does to me." He tore at his own shirt and tossed it higher up the bank, before kicking off his boots. Before he could strip off his uniform pants, he heard a splash and moments later felt cold water assail his naked chest. "Cute, don't think I wont punish you for splashing me."

Smirking, "Big talk from someone who is still sitting on the sidelines" Charlotte taunted.

Shedding the pants, Bass tossed them over his shoulder and ran toward the water. Seeing him coming, Charlotte decided to play and ran through the water deeper into the woods. Giving chase through the water wasn't as difficult as she imagined it would be and before she could get too far, he had scooped her up from behind and fell back into the water soaking them both. Twisting up out of the water, Charlotte sputtered and smacked his chest.

Bass pinned her arms behind her back and bent his head to launch a full assault on her lips. Unable to free her arms, Charlotte swung her legs forward and hooked them around his hips. As her center came into contact with his hard, slick shaft she gasped into the kiss. Bass sucked her bottom lip into his mouth and release her hands so he could slide his finger against the bundle of nerves at her apex.

Taking advantage of her freedom Charlotte wove one hand into his hair and snaking the other between their bodies, she clutched his slick shaft with the other. Guiding him toward her center, he thrust up with stunning potency as she arched into his chest and cried out in shock at the unexpectedly fast orgasm that racked her body. Feeling her fall over the edge, Bass began to thrust with abandon, waiting until the final second to pull out and spill himself into the water. As they both clung to each other coming down off of the high of being together, Charlotte nuzzled his neck and ran her hands along his chiseled back.

Almost two hours later the lovers met up with the, thankfully discrete, guards and set off to reunite with their family. As the horses charged forward, Charlotte asked, "Before you explain your insane plan that my idiotic father agreed to; what is an Oscar?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Looking out over the city of Richmond from the Presidential Suite on the 19th floor gave Bass an incredible view of the city. Examining the rebuilding going on surrounding the center of the city, he smiled at the growth of the Republic. As with many cities, Richmond had been abandoned and much of it destroyed after the blackout. Now it stood at less than a quarter of the sprawling city that had once been a thriving capital of commerce and arts, but it appeared to be smart rebuilding – focusing on the center of the city, on only the needed buildings instead of unchecked expansion. Scanning down to the entrance of the Omni he looked through the courtyard; this had undoubtedly been a very beautiful hotel before the blackout and the efforts to restore the building were clear. The lobby had once had an arched walkway that appeared to have been glass. Though they had not replaced the glass over the years, flowering vines that had replaced the glass added a natural beauty to the environment. At first it had seemed frivolous to climb up to the top floor to stay in the Presidential suite; but it would only be two nights and it provided a clear security advantage to secure an entire floor. Each of the two suites on the floor had two bedrooms, both with king sized beds and a living room situated between the rooms. Not wanting to push his luck, Bass conceded to the boy's room being in his suite, as he watched Miles guide the 4 girls into his and Nora's rooms and slammed the door behind him. It was more than possible that the hours they had fallen behind the traveling party had given away that the stop had been for more than just sadness at change. His peaceful reflection on the success of a major city was interrupted by screaming from the far bedroom. Shaking his head, Bass moved toward the banging sound and, giving into curiosity, slowly toed the door open. Inside he watched as Jake bounced on a chair near the window rooting for… well Bass wasn't quite sure who he was shouting his support for; on the bed Marcus, Nate and Noah appeared to be attempting to wrestle Ross into submission. A moment later Bass lunged to catch Noah in one arm and a decorative vase in the other as his youngest son went flying backward toward a bedside table. "Cut it out before you break more than just the furniture and your mothers decide to kill me." Settling Noah on the ground he separated Marcus and Nate who had not noticed that Ross had escaped and they were now wrestling each other. "Ross pull yourself together, you and I have an appointment. Jake, Marcus your father and is waiting for you two, Noah and Nate downstairs, and for the love of god don't run down the stairs – at least pretend others are staying in this hotel." Pushing and shoving as they angled to be first out the door, the four boys raced toward the stairs and their next adventure.

Straightening his clothes Ross stepped alongside his father before asking, "We have an appointment?"

Bass simply nodded and started toward the door. It wasn't until nearly 3 blocks from the hotel that, sensing Ross had exhausted his patience, Bass began to speak. "Power does mean in charge. You think because the Republic is the Monroe Republic and I am the president that I am powerful, but your grandfather is just as powerful and he is a Matheson."

Not understanding the lesson had only just begun Ross interrupted, "He is General of the Militia and you and he formed the Republic together."

Placing a hand on his son's shoulder, Bass continued "Yes, but what did you learn from the lesson your grandfather taught you in Lancaster."

Pausing his steps, Ross thought about the visit to the forge. "Everyone has a role, each job matters." Looking up before he continued speaking, Ross began to walk as he responded to the question, "If the people you lead don't follow then you have no power, if the people you lead don't do their jobs then everything falls apart?"

Bowing his head with pride and approval, Bass smiled at the answer before responding, "Yes, that is all true. But power comes in many forms. Today we are going to visit the house of John Marshall. It is here, in the heart of Richmond's "Court End" district. He was a contemporary of the historical leaders we are surrounding by in Philadelphia and it is said that he was the most powerful man in history never to be president of the United States." Bass stopped in front of the brown brick, two-story building and pushed open the black wrought iron gate. "Marshall served from 1801 until 1835 as a Justice on the Supreme Court. He is best known as the "Great Chief Justice" for his role in creating the Supreme Court."

Across town Nora and Charlotte walked their girls through the Lakeside Farmers' Market examining stalls of handmade products and food as they went. Danni scrutinized dyed fabric that had been displayed as a sarong, as Claire perused the decades old books on the table. "Dolls, Mommy!" Eve and Maddie squealed in unison as they began pulling on Charlotte and Nora's arms. Charlotte smiled before instructing the guards to stay with the twins, before she picked up her littlest munchkin and moving toward the table of handmade dolls.

Chuckling, Robert knocked into John's shoulder and motioned to the booth of clothes and fabrics, "I think you might be needed… in fact, I am sure your charge would love your opinion on her purchases."

"Yeah Pike, really funny – I'll trade you a week's pay to shop with her for the rest of the day. I can't handle one more question about whether some frilly thing will make her look pretty!" John was nearly begging, as his best friend nearly bent over with laughter.

"Sorry Johnny-boy, but I will happily stick to my twin." Robert added as he turned to move toward the book stall.

Before he could take more than a step, John reached for his arm and pulled him back, "Come on their identical twins, they won't even know the difference."

Shocked, Robert stared at him as though he was stupid, "You do realize they might be identical, but we aren't and they're going to be able to tell the difference. You can't really be that big an idiot?"

"No dumbass that is not what I meant. I mean they look alike so no one else will know that we switched."

Bewildered Robert shook his head before smacking his best friend upside the crown of his head, "Oh yeah… I'm sure the general can't tell his granddaughters apart or maybe you think that Monroe himself gets them confused. Listen – go do your job. She is a 12 year old girl, how hard can it be?" Robert turned away in disgust at his friend and moved to stand next to Claire. In her hands was an old hardbound book that she was thumbing through and next to her was a large pile of 7 thick hard bound books. After a few minutes had past he decided to attempt to engage the quiet young girl in conversation. "Did you find something interesting?"

Tilting her head up to look at him, she smiled, then Claire flicked through a few additional pages before softly responding, "Ross loves science and my dad loves history – I thought this might work as a gift for both of them." Then tapping her hand on the pile, "And these I thought would be perfect bedtime stories for my little brothers and uncles."

Picking up the first book on the pile Robert read the title. Curiously he lifted the next book and then a third before asking about her choices, "Are all 7 of these a series of some sort or just the same title character in different situations?"

With a grin Claire responded, "It is a series, about a wizard's adventures and his fight to defeat evil. I remember my father saying he read them – that they were wildly popular and there were even these amazing things called picture movies about them. Growing up I loved hearing my father talk about picture movies. He said that he and grandpa would sit for hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon watching a double feature, that there was even a drive-in theatre that they would go to in the summer. The screen at the drive-in was the size of a building and they would sit in Grandpa Miles' old mustang with the top down as they watched movies. It just sounds so incredible to be able to watch pictures of the stories I read – it's like a dream."

Her voice had sounded almost wistful about something that neither of them had ever experienced – would never experience. Surprised by her choices – all gifts, he asked about the one in her hand, "And why that particular science text?"

Handing him the book she turned to face him directly before replying, "I found this book and just knew. It explains scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science he writes about was at its simplest stage. My dad is like that with all of history, as you can imagine dinner conversations can be a little boring. Anyway, the author Isaac Assimov, includes nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. This _Chronology of Science and Discovery_ isn't just a really thick book, it is a chance for Ross to explore all the things he wants to understand." Realizing she had gone on longer than he anticipated she would, Claire lowered her eyes and blushed a deep red on her normally creamy pale cheeks.

Handing her back the book, Robert lifted her chin and looked into her deep blue eyes, "You're very thoughtful. You have books in this pile for all the boys and for your dad, what I don't see is something for you."

"I'll be the one reading all of these books to the younger boys, so I will also get to enjoy them." She replied.

Not quite willing to give up, Robert pressed, "But what would you want to read? Shouldn't you pick something that interests you?"

Before she could reply, Charlotte walked over and hugged her daughter from behind. "Are you ready for me to pay for your books?"

Claire bobbed her head full of curls and lifted the stack of 8 books, while she watched her mother pay the grateful elderly woman. Then thanking the woman she followed her mother. Robert had watched the exchange before hearing the woman tell a small child who those women were. "Who's the little boy?"

Realizing the Militia solider had not departed the woman looked up almost scared, then the little boy replied, "This is my great-grandmother. She takes care of me and my little sister by selling books here at the market."

Pike listened to the boy and wondered what had happened that this slumped, white haired woman was attempting to support two young children by selling books. Feeling sorry because he knew that books were a luxury that were likely hard to sell he fingered the stacks before asking, "The young woman I am guarding, did she look at anything for herself or only for others?"

With a smile the cracking voice responded, "She was looking at the travelogues. She particularly seemed to like the one about China, but the art in the Italy book seemed to catch her eye."

Acknowledging her words he scanned the table and grabbed two romance novels for his own sisters before picking up "_Travel Around China_" and "_Eyewitness Travel Guides: Italy_". Paying the woman he stuck the books into his sack and hurried to catch up to the surprisingly kind young woman he was fortunate enough to protect.

Standing at the edge of the market, Charlotte watched as her father trailed her brothers and younger sons, talking with Bass and Ross as they traveled toward their designated meeting point.

As they approached, Miles quizzed Ross on the purpose of his joining up with the other boys on the tour of the Museum of the Confederacy.

Her thoughtful son seemed to be considering his answer before he attempted to reply, "That place, it makes people from more than a hundred years ago seem more human, more personal. Dad always says the Civil War was a key moment in history. The Museum allows the participants to speak for themselves, to tell their own stories in their own voices and in their own way. The younger boys liked seeing the swords, and the cannons, and uniforms – which kind of look a lot like the ones the Militia wear, but the real value were the photographs, personal papers and diaries, because those tell a story from the people who lived it." He paused in his response for a moment before asking his question, "Who will tell the story of the Monroe Republic? How will people who follow understand what happened and why you stepped in to lead?"

Miles showed an air of pride as he rested a hand on his grandson's shoulder. "Hopefully, someday you will. History is written by the winner, but we wanted you to see that museum because everyone has a perspective and hearing them, learning from them matters. It is not about agreeing it is about learning and leaving behind enough information for those that follow."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

They had been traveling south from Richmond since early this morning, and despite a picnic rest stop in Snow Hill, North Carolina the travel had been uneventful. Now, as they passed the tiny town of Halfmoon, Bass considered that he might have over reacted. He also might still go back and execute that handsie 14 year old farm boy.

Pulling alongside her father, Danni tried to determine the best way to engage him in a conversation. "I…" pausing she sputtered out, "I'm sorry daddy."

Breathing in deep, Bass turned his head left and saw the slumped shoulders and bent head of his beautiful young daughter. Beyond inheriting his unruly curls, his identical daughters were carbon copies of their mother; and where Claire was far more bookish, Danni had the irrepressible personality that drew people to her. He supposed the events of the day were not surprising, but the whole idea of selecting John Grant to guard Danni was that he was supposed to keep her distracted enough to prevent trouble with local boys. Looking beyond his daughter, Bass caught the eye of the young buck riding a bit back and off to the right. John looked worried and seemed to be sweating out his fate – well good! Grant had one job – keep his precious little girl safe. Ok, maybe he had two jobs because he was supposed to be keeping her away from boys. Thankfully the boy had the brains to look contrite. "Why? I know you think you are all grown up, but you are still only a little girl and young boys…no revise that all boys think about only one thing and that is sex."

Shuddering, "Really daddy! Oh, God this is so embarrassing! You would not believe the lecture mom just finished giving me. I figured, at least if I was riding with you I was safe from another sex talk."

"What did you mother say?" Bass asked as he attempted to suppress a grin.

"Really?"

"Yes, really! I want to hear every word." Bass gave her a look that stressed she better not be holding back.

Looking back to realize John was riding a little too close, Danni began to mumble her response.

Using his command voice Bass waved his arm to signal her guard should fall back, he might be forcing her to speak, but he wasn't cruel. "Not a chance, if you are old enough to let a boy kiss you, you are old enough to discuss this without mumbling."

It appeared there would be no end to the embarrassment she would have to face today.

3 hours earlier:

After spending the morning riding south to Rocky Mount and then turning east toward the ocean Danni was bored, 5 hours on horseback was not as exciting as one would think; and she was getting a little angry, John kept talking about his sister being the same age. If all he saw when he looked at her was his little sister than he would never want to date her – and that would suck. She had to think of a way to convince him to see her as a woman, someone he could fall in love with. As she watched the traveling party come to a halt at a plantation house, Danni looked up. It appeared her father was speaking to a man about allowing them to picnic near the lake just beyond the house. The weeping willows along the bank would provide a great deal of shade and she could cool off taking a swim in the lake. Settling her horse next to the white wooden fence, Danni slid down and walked over to join her mother and father.

As she approached she heard the conversation between the farmer and her parents. "It is not a problem at all, General Monroe; we would be honored to have you and your family rest here for lunch. My son Clay can get your mounts settled near the stables and give them hay and water."

Danni watched as her father and grandfather shook hands with the man and escorted the rest of the family toward the lake. Watching, she noticed a boy who looked a few years older start to handle the horses. He was a little lanky and had dark hair, but it was when he looked over and smiled at her that she had an idea. Slowly walking her horse toward the smiling boy, in a soft, shy voice she introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Danni. Can I help?"

As the boy smiled at her, Danni looked back to see if John was looking, but when it appeared he wasn't she decided to up the ante. Grabbing her lunch sack, she moved toward the corral, "So, your home quite beautiful; maybe you could show me your favorite spots after we finish with the horses?" As she finished speaking Danni reached out and touched his arm.

Stuttering a bit, Clay accepted her help with the horses, before he led her down the bank behind the barn toward a cove he knew would not be visible. Spreading out the blanket he had grabbed from the inside of the barn, Clay sat and reached out so Danni would join him, "Have you really been traveling from the Capital?" realizing he sounded stupid asking President Monroe's daughter if she was traveling from the capital, Clay hurried on, "I mean, we we've never left this area for any length of time. Are you excited to be going to the ocean?"

Looking up at the boy, Danni smiled before she started speaking all about how excited she was about the beach. It wasn't until she felt him move closer that she stopped speaking and looked up at him confused. He was so close she could feel his breath on her neck. It tickled and as she shuddered she turned to face him completely. As she squared her shoulders toward him his lips connected with hers. It felt a little weird, his lips were kind of slobbery and that seemed like it was his hand that was grabbing her bottom. Why was his hand squeezing her bottom? Falling back onto the blanket, Clay continued to kiss her.

Moments later she felt him being pulled away, as her father roared, "Get off my little girl." The farmer was alternating between berating his son and begging her father not to kill him. It wasn't until her mother put her hand on her father's arm that he calmed enough to let the boy go. Clay ran off into the sprawling farm house and Bass barked at John, "And you! You are supposed to be watching her – escort her to the carriage, we are leaving." Danni was so embarrassed that John was seeing this and now he was being asked to take her back to the carriage like she was a little girl who had been bad and was being sent to her room – he would never like her now. Danni desperately tried to hold back the tears as they walked back toward the carriage and he helped her step up.

Claire nearly pushed John aside to hop into the carriage and stared at her for several minutes before asking, "So? How did it feel? Was it romantic? Did it feel like magic? What was it like?"

While Claire waited to hear all the details, her mother watched her father rant as he paced back and forth along the bank. "You need to fix this Charlotte! I mean really, she is 12 – I just caught my 12 year old little princess being mauled by a hormonal teenage boy. This can't happen! The whole point of the plan was that John would distract her without anything happening. This was not the plan. You waited until we married! You need to go explain that terrible things happen when you let teenage boys touch you! And you will explain to her that waiting until we were married was the best decision you ever made. And that she needs to wait – minimally until she marries, but longer is fine."

Attempting not to laugh, "Actually, I tried repeatedly to get you to have sex with me before we got married. The way I remember it, it was entirely my father's fault that I was a virgin when we married. Something about you promising him that we would wait."

Groaning Miles added, "In fairness I told Bass that you shouldn't have sex until I had been dead for 10 years, so I still like to pretend that you two don't have sex."

"Seriously? You can't actually be so stupid to think I am not having sex with my husband every chance I get! I mean look at him…" waving her arm Charlotte continued, more in an effort to disgust her father, "he is so… wow…yum!"

Miles covered his ears before muttering, "I need a drink… actually I need an entire bottle."

Shaking her head Charlotte muttered as she stormed toward the carriage, "Fine, I will talk with them. But you people will be in charge on all of the other children while I do this – figure it out, we are leaving."

Moments later, when her mother and Grandma Nora joined her, Danni realized that the really awful part of the day was just beginning. She watched Ross mount up, and saw Marcus being hoisted up onto her horse, it appeared the younger three boys and the littlest girls were all loaded into the wagon as they left.

It took more than a few minutes before Charlotte began speaking to her daughters, "When you were younger your favorite bedtime stories used to be stories about how your father and I fell in love. You would smile and clap when I told you about how I have loved your father my whole life. You would giggle at the story of our first kiss. I assumed I would be able to wait a few more years before we had to have a discussion about sex. I didn't have a mother to talk about sex with – I just knew that the boys my age were not as wonderful as your father so I was willing to wait until I got old enough for him to notice me. You are both so young, you're going to be changing a great deal over the next few years – your bodies…"

"Oh, god mom, STOP!" The girls chorus simultaneously.

An hour later Danni nearly dove out of the carriage to avoid hearing any more details about the mechanics of sex or how much more 'meaningful' it had been because her mother had waited. In fairness the worst part had to be hearing how disappointed Grandma Nora was that she had lost hope of Grandpa ever noticing her and had sex with some 'skill-less nobody' instead of waiting for grandpa – now that was a vomit inducing thought. And now, here she was trying to avoid another – even more embarrassing conversation.

Before she could respond with a detailed explanation of what her mother had told her, Ross can galloping up to her rescue. Screaming, "Dad, Dad! Grandpa says you have to come. We can see the entrance! It says United States Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune right across the top of the gate. You have to come!"

Turning to his excited son, Bass nodded before responding, "Ok, tell your grandfather I am just going to get your younger brothers before I join the four of you." Turning toward Danni, "Join your mother and continue on toward the boat, we will catch up." Starting back to the wagon to retrieve Nate and Noah, Bass looked over his shoulder just in time to notice her relief, "and we will finish this conversation later."

The traveling party broke off and continued southeast toward the dock area and the waiting ferry boat, while Bass slowly attempted to ride triple with his six year old twins. When he finally caught up with his best friend, Bass paused for a moment to watch as Miles situated Marcus, Jake and Ross each onto a faded set of yellow footprints just inside the main gate of Camp Lejeune. Ross stood in the first line alone, in the second stood Marcus and behind him Jake. Miles strolled over and lifted his younger to grandsons off the horse. Depositing the two on the ground, Miles patted them on the butt directing them to stand, in line, behind their brother. When Noah and Nate had joined Ross and all 5 boys stood at attention, or their best proximity, Miles used his 'Commanding General' voice to address the new recruits with the words, he and Bass had heard decades ago. "Boys many years ago your father and I stood where you stand now. We stood with other young recruits all honored to be chosen to become Marines. The Drill Sargent told us, 'You have just taken the first step toward becoming a member of the world's finest fighting force, the United States Marine Corps.' We were told that while we were standing on the yellow footprints we would stand at attention." As Miles said that, Bass walked around and repositioned each boy to be at full attention. Miles waited until each of the 5 boys were standing just so before continuing, "We knew this was a special place and we would learn what it means to be a Marine. We brought you here because thousands of Marines have stood on those very same yellow footprints before and you have now as well – you need to be proud of who you are and where you come from. Do you understand?"

Without pausing the pacing he had done during his speech, Miles waited until a moment later when all five boys simultaneously bellowed out, "Yes Sir!" Bass and Miles smiled at each other with pride in their sons and fond memories of a time when their lives were much simpler.


	8. Chapter 8

A short and hopefully fun, update today, mostly because I am snowed in. And the promise I will work on another during tomorrow's snow day.

Chapter 8 –

The pounding of the feet against the gang plank signified her sons and brothers had arrived and they could finally begin their week-long beach vacation. The boat trip down the New River and out to North Topsail Island would take little more than an hour and then it was sand castles, ocean waves and lazy mornings in bed! Turning Charlotte figured she shouldn't be surprised by the sight that greeted her – each of her three sons, red fabric tied off as pirate hats, were swinging those idiotic dull swords in a pirate battle against her two brothers who had been outfitted in blue fabric. She watched as they swung clanking mettle and chasing each other around the deck; and nearly jumped as Ross attempted to show off by leaping up on to a wooden box before stepping on the a railing and pronouncing, "I am king of this pirate ship – bow down to my swordsmanship!" She watched him wobble before stabilizing himself by grabbing a rope and attempting to swing forward toward the battle that raged in front of him. The rope, not having been anchored to anything specific, unraveled from above and he crashed the 3 feet to the deck below, before hopping up and attempting to make it look intentional. Scanning back to the gangplank Charlotte watched as the back of her husband's red cloth covered head came into view. The sound from Bass' decidedly more hazardous saber reverberating from the contact against her father's parry drew her attention away from the young boys, as the two actively participated with their sons in the battle. She supposed she should not be surprised that they had decided to role play with the boys, if she had learned nothing in her lifetime it was that her father and Bass would, likely, never grow up. It was her distraction at seeing the flex of her husband's back muscles and tight butt that was to blame when she missed the five co-conspirators lay down their swords and grab the rope Ross had unhooked with his antics moments earlier. It wasn't until moments later that Jake let out a howl claiming injury, and Miles and Bass stopped to see who was hurt that the other 4 dove into action and wound the rope around their fathers. Wrapped back to back in rope, Nate and Noah pushed their prisoners toward the mast while Ross and Marcus grabbed a second rope and tied them off. At the sight of the Commanding General of the Republic and the President tied to a mast, Charlotte was not the only passenger aboard the boat that was working to control laughter. "First mate Marcus take the wheel, we depart at dawn!" cried Ross, as he circled his captured father and grandfather playing at interrogating them, "Now! Tell me where you have buried the treasure."

Laughing Miles responded, "You'll never find it Captain Ross! Our men will come for us and destroy your ship." Then muttering to Bass, Miles said "Plus, it's two in the afternoon, so either we are standing here all night, or you never taught your kid what dawn was."

Indignantly, Bass replied, "Hey, he's just playing make believe! Besides, some Commanding general you are – how did you let yourself get caught by a 10-year-old and 3 six-year-olds?"

"Ah excuse me dumbass, but you appear to have been caught too." Miles pointed out, "In fact, if I hadn't been so distracted by your dismal abilities with your sword then I would have been paying attention and escaped to fight another day."

Banging his shoulder back Bass retorted cockily, "I have never had any complaints about how I wield my sword; in fact just last night I got multiple compliments on my skill in the use of my sword. Of course, if you are too old to engage in a little sword play…"

Kicking at Bass' lower leg, Miles disgustedly reacted "You're an ass! And my sword works just fine."

Charlotte watched from her spot on the far railing, as her son strode away toward the edge of the boat, thankfully unaware of his father and grandfather's change in conversation topic. As he leaned over to look at the troops still on shore he called out to those preparing to board, "Make haste! There is treasure to be found and an island to conquer!" Thankfully, the waiting Militia humored him and worked to finish loading the supplies for departure.

Hoping to be freed, Bass called out to Charlotte. "Set me free and I shall be yours forever!" he declared.

Shaking her head, Charlotte laughed, "Yeah, not so sure… you did give my sons back those stupid swords that I specifically remember telling you to get rid of."

Miles laughed at the trouble Bass had gotten into, "Guess you won't be using your sword for a while."

Charlotte pushed off the railing and rounded on her father, "Oh, and you think Nora is just going to smile and nod when I tell her that you gave Marcus and Jake their swords back?" Miles hung his head as she continued, "Yeah that is what I thought. I think I will leave you there for a little while, or at least until Nora returns from putting Eve and Maddie down for a nap in the cabin."

An hour later, after the last of the supplies had been loaded and the Captain had been kind enough to allow Ross to call weigh anchor. The ship made its way down the New River and out to sea with 2 of the most powerful men on the continent tied to a mast. At first Charlotte and Nora considered freeing them, but the boys were laughing and cheering their victory with such joy that both men decided it was better to stay where they were and instructed their wives to go enjoy the view. As the ship rounded the tip of the island and slowed its speed as it made open water, Miles whispered, "Now?"

Bass looked around before answering with a soft yes and unhooking the knot that had barely held the rope in place. "Do you have eyes on Nora?" After Miles nods, Bass continued, "Definitely now – in three?"

Miles nods before softly counting down. As he reaches 1, they drop the rope and each rush forward. Bass grabs Charlotte around the waist and lifts her into a cradle hold. Charlotte starts to scream as she sees Nora thrown over Miles shoulder and hitting his back with her fists. Miles steps atop a crate next to the rail they had been leaning on. Bass laughs as he steps toward the same crate, before calling out to his son, "You Captain Ross have lost! I have my treasure right here and now we will escape your evil clutches!" As the words come out, Miles steps up onto the rail with a shocked Nora and leaps forward into the ocean.

Moments later, as Charlotte threatens, "If you do this we will never have sex again! Do you hear me? Bass, I am not kidding!" Bass laughs and goes over the railing. Seconds later they plunge into the brisk salt water, and after regaining the surface, Charlotte sputters and smacks his chest. Before she can berate him, Charlotte looks up and sees her sons and brothers cheering from the rail and laughing.

Bass sees her smiling at their fun and nuzzles her neck as he treads water and continues to hold her from behind. She's not fighting him, so he leans back and they float out away from the boat as it continues to slowly progress south along the shore toward the pier. From behind them they can hear Nora and Miles laughter and the splashes that signify a water fight. Charlotte turned over onto her stomach and squirms away to engage in the fun.

Likely half an hour had passed before they swam into shore, shaking off the water from their bodies the four lifetime friends began the walk down the quiet beach holding hands and smiling.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The Villas was not a single house; clearly there had been many opulent homes dotting the island at one time, but between hurricanes through the years and abandonment by owners that needed to adapt to an electricity free world, the island had been mostly reclaimed by nature. The Villa was an exception. A condo community that formed a 'U' shape around a massive, terraced courtyard, the building was made of concrete, weathered white by time and had clearly been quite exclusive in its day – each unit had several balconies with waist high, black wrought iron railings; there had been 1 massive pool in the courtyard, two smaller pools hidden in coves of palm trees and a pair of hot tubs, as well as multiple beach access points. The selection of the spot allowed for all family and militia members to enjoy a private suite, many with stunning views. Nora stood at the top of the stairs that led from the beach in awe. She supposed that they simply selected the best available structure that would provide sufficient space for all members of the party, but she wondered – it felt almost as though Miles and Bass knew of this place somehow. Turning, she looked at their faces. Each man was smiling at the other, clearly silently sharing a memory. Betting a hunch, "This is not your first stay at this place? You've been here before."

Grinning Miles kissed the crown of her head, but it was Bass who responded, "When we were stationed at Lejeune we met a couple of girls one April night at a bar in Jacksonville. They had been vacationing and when we mentioned having a two day pass, they asked us to join them out here."

Smacking his shoulder as she passed, "So, you decided to bring your wife and children to a place you and Miles partied with a pair of Marine groupies… nice, really classy." Charlotte alleged.

Miles laughed as Bass trailed after Charlotte attempting to determine if she was really mad at him. Nora cuddled closer before speaking, "Coming back here, bringing us here is not the same as never leaving. But, it is kind of fun to picture you as a cocky 19 year-old with his best friend and not a single responsibility – before the tours you told me about in Iraq and Afghanistan, before the lights went out and you and your best friend walked across the east in search of your family, before you started a country, conquered your enemies and I fell in love with you."

Miles caressed the spot behind her ear before suggesting they head back down the stairs to watch the boys play in the sand as the sun sets behind them.

On the third floor of the right wing, Charlotte smiled as she saw her eldest girls grinning with laughter, "Mom, you and Dad have got to see the view from our rooms and it is so incredibly cool that you are letting us stay in our own unit!" Shaking her head, Charlotte could barely keep herself from chuckling as she watched Claire and Danni vibrate with joy. Of course she did double over with laughter a moment later when she heard Bass sputter at learning the knowledge that his daughters would not be staying in the same unit.

"But, but… what… excuse me?" Bass questioned.

Patting his chest, "I spoke with the Militia guard that investigated this place for us. The condos each have two bedrooms. We will be in 317 with Maddie, Miles and Nora will be in 319 with Eve, and Claire and Danni will be in 318 with all 5 boys."

Then it was her daughters turn to plead and argue, "You can't be serious?! There are two rooms and two of us. Why would you stick us with those lunatics?" Danni demanded.

"Mom, wouldn't it make more sense if you put the boys with an adult? They don't listen to us and you don't want them unattended." Claire reasoned.

Looking at his practical little heir, Bass smiled in thought before speaking, "Ok, I think she is right Charlotte. Based on the map there is one room beyond Miles and Nora's and we can put the 5 boys in there with Pike and Grant to keep tabs on them at night." Bass smiled at the almost instantaneous screams of "NO!" coming from both girls, as though there was any scenario that those two young guards would share a condo with his daughters. At the look on their father's face they pivoted and stormed off toward the rooms.

Smiling Bass took Charlotte's hand and walked her toward their unit. Before she could reach for the door, Bass scooped her up and pushed the door open with his ass.

"Bass what are you doing? Put me down." Charlotte demanded.

With a smile Bass shook his head, "No, my beautiful bride; I have every intention of carrying my bride over the threshold like I did on our honeymoon. Just think we have a unit that we will only be sharing with the one child that we can control! It's the perfect opportunity for a romantic second honeymoon."

Shaking her head at his childlike antics, "It's been a few years, but I don't remember sand, or palm trees, or warm temperatures anywhere during our honeymoon. I just remember a whole lot of snow and two weeks of a naked you!"

With a sparkle in his eyes, Bass offered, "I could be naked now?"

Climbing out of his arms, Charlotte started to explore the condo. Just inside the door, to the left, was a small bright yellow bedroom with a large bed and a small chest of drawers; what had once been a serviceable, but not particularly fancy bathroom was attached. Ahead the hallway split; on the left the hall led to an open kitchen with an eating bar, stools and a counter made of brown and black flecked granite. Beyond the kitchen was a living room – all the furnishings the same as they had been on the night electricity disappeared from the world, a large L-shaped couch a low glass coffee table filled with sea shells and a wall sized TV that her husband appeared to be mooning over. Turning she walked back toward the other hall and realized it was actually a part of the master bedroom. Another, slightly nicer bathroom was on the right and the hall opened to a large room with a king-sized bed. Another TV hung on the cream colored wall opposite the bed, and an almost wall sized sliding glass door stood open to the breeze of salt air that filled the room, made up the far wall.

After exploring the deck beyond the flowing curtains, Charlotte moved back to the living room before responding to her husband's offer, "Sorry, naked time will have to wait; I need to retrieve Maddie, you need to make sure the boys are settled into their rooms and check that the Militia has a guard rotation schedule, and we all need to gather for dinner, all before we can put the kids to bed. Then, maybe we can have some reenactments of our first vacation."

Charlotte opened the sliding glass doors in the living room and the windows in the small bedroom to let in the ocean breeze before she walked out the door to check with the head of her security. Minutes later she found Duncan in the room next door watching Maddie and Eve while Danni unpacked. Looking around the room, Charlotte noticed Claire was missing almost immediately and asked, "Duncan have you seen Claire?"

Smiling up from her spot on the floor, she dropped the doll back in Eve's hands before getting up to speak with her boss. "Claire grabbed her book, a sweater and a blanket and headed down to the courtyard to read in one of the wooden chairs on the lawn. Don't worry – Lance Corporal Pike followed her to keep watch."

Charlotte sat down and grabbed a doll to play with her little girl and her younger sister, "Join us Duncan. There is nothing more fun that dolls with a little girl."

Outside as the evening light started to fade; Claire sat under a pair of tiki torches with a blanket over her legs and her favorite old book on her lap. Off to the side, on an oversized rock, Robert sat watching her read and wondering how he could give her the books he had bought without leading her on.

After 15 minutes of half reading and covertly watching him stare, Claire finally decided to engage Robert in conversation. "Aren't you bored watching me?"

Unwilling to answer, Robert leaned forward and decided to ask a question instead, "Tell me about what you are reading?"

Nodding Claire showed him the cover of the book she was holding, It looked handmade and well used, "My mom found this book when she was my age. Her, my dad, Grandpa had gone on vacation to Boston. She said that they had gone to a farmers market called Haymarket that had been in operation since 1830 to buy food, and then wandered over a few streets to an open air market called Faneuil Hall. There was a woman there that was selling all kinds of old world things and mom found this book. She said she wasn't sure the woman meant to have brought it that day or wanted to sell it, but dad offered her a lot of money. Mom told me about her when I found this book in her private study; she said that the book was written by the woman she bought it from. The book is a collection of pictures that she took and watercolors that she drew during her travels in Peru; and on each page she tells the stories of her adventures." Leaning forward Claire showed the cover entitled 'Travel Tips for Machu Picchu, Peru'; before she started talking again, "Do you want to hear my favorite part?"

Robert looked at the smile on her face and heard the excitement in her voice, so he moved closer to sit on the grass at the base of the chair, "Tell me everything. Read to me, show me the pictures, teach me all about whatever Macho Picco is."

Claire laughed and hit his shoulder, sure he was making fun of her, but corrected him anyway, "Machu Picchu, it is in Peru, a country in South America, and it is a lost city that was hidden for hundreds of years in the Amazon jungle. Evidently it was built by the Inca and people would travel there to see the stunning ruins and explore the hiking trail that led there. The author is an amazing photographer, and her drawings are beautiful, but I think the best part is the story she told. I keep reading it and just wish I could find a way to travel in her footsteps. Here listen to this…"

Robert watched her joy as she began to read, "It's been two weeks since I have returned from exploring Peru. I went with my Keens a beat up pair of jean shorts, a tankini top, and a hiking pack that included my extra khaki shorts, 4 cotton t-shirts, underwear that isn't practical for what I am doing, 3 water bottles, a ten pack of Mocha Almond Bars – you know the really good kind that don't just have almonds and a little bit of dark chocolate, but walnuts and apricots and flax seeds and way more dark chocolate than is really necessary, and gum, oh, and of course my camera with the extra lens, and my water painting travel kit. As we hiked, I listened to _Turn Right at Machu Picchu_ on my IPhone and enjoyed the incredible fresh air of the jungle that enclosed the Inca Trail. The entire trip was supposed to take 4 days, but with all the stops to take pictures, sketch and paint it was 7 before we reached Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. We stayed in a hostel for the night before we rode the first bus of the morning up the hill at 5:30 am. I suppose I could have taken the 2 hour hike up the stairs, but by riding the bus for 20 minutes it got me in the gate first and I still had my energy intact, so I could enjoy exploring the ruins, make friends with the llamas, photograph – EVERYTHING – and sketch and draw from 19 different angles."

Robert looked at the photographs she showed from the book and examined the detail of the watercolor paintings, but said nothing, just knowing Claire had more to say.

Understanding he was willing to listen, Claire continued, "She describes the sunrise that first morning in Machu Picchu and there are pages and pages of pictures and the watercolors she did – and she explains what everything is, quotes a bunch of different books and at one point she tells a story of how a llama snuck up on her from behind while she painted and sniffed her drawing."

"It sounds amazing. Do think she traveled to other places? Maybe she wrote other books." He took the book from her hand and thumbed through the pages.

In a soft, shy voice Claire offered, "You can borrow it… I mean if you're interested I, I would let you borrow it."

Before he could respond, they both heard her grandfather calling her uncles and brothers up from the beach to dinner. Realizing they would have company in a few moments, Robert stood and thanked her for the book, "I would love to read it. I promise to keep it safe."

A grinning Claire followed him toward the picnic tables on the far side of the upper terrace positive if she was patient he would learn to see her as more than a little sister.

After dinner they all headed up the stairs and Bass paused as he watched Danni and Claire pass their door and walk toward the boys Condo. Stunned his voice broke as he bellowed, "Where are you going?"

Claire walked back and cuddled into her father's arms, "Night Daddy, I am going to read to the boys before bed. You remember, I bought those Potter books as bedtime stories for them."

Bass grudgingly muttered an "I guess" before he let Charlotte pull him into their unit. And Danni waited until the door clicked close to extend her invitation, "You know John, Claire said this whole Potter story is supposed to be really great. You and Robert should totally stay and listen."

From his place just around the corner Miles heard the offer and had to choke on his laughter. It served Bass right that he had to deal with those two, he loved his granddaughters, but their less than subtle interest in boys was certainly taking its toll on Bass, and to be fair that is just more fun for him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

The warm breeze of salt air that ruffled the gauzy floor to ceiling curtains gently grazed over her naked limbs as Charlotte snuggled deeper into the warm embrace of her husband. Slowly she brushed her leg down the inside of Bass' calf and floated her finger tips along the ridges of his chest. Smiling she had no issue acknowledging that he continued to age nicely; his body remained hard and well defined. The moan she elicited with her stroking let her know that he was waking up, so she levered herself on top of Bass and began to slowly kiss her way down his body.

With his eyes closed Bass' rough voice questioned "Don't tell me if this is a fantasy I'm having? Because if I am still asleep and someone wakes me before I get to feel myself inside you there is going to be a death."

Slowly continuing to kiss down his stomach Charlotte lifted herself and straddled his upper thighs as she took his hard shaft in her hands and deliberately stroked. "I wonder if I can taste the ocean on you."

Startled by her words, Bass' eyes flew open just in time to see her lips close over his head. The feel of her moaning against him caused his hips to flex up and he could see the smile in her eyes.

Bass attempted to reach for the crown of her head to weave his fingers in her long strands of loose hair, but she lifted away. "No, no, no. You stay right where you are, or I will tie you up and have my wicked way with you." Bass nodded, but was sorely tempted to let her tie him up. She returned to licking the length of his shaft as he watched. She could see his breathing shallow out as she clutched at the base and deepened her sucking until moments later he shattered.

After he recovered, Bass looked at her smug smirk and laughed, "You are very satisfied with yourself, aren't you?"

"Actually, it's you that looks pretty satisfied. I'm just enjoying some alone time with the sexiest man I know." Charlotte scooted forward and draped herself on top of him.

Bass stroked his splayed hand along the length of her spine and smiled as he heard her squeak when he grabbed her butt and squeezed. "I think I might enjoy tying you up, but how about we move this out on to the deck and watch the rest of the sunrise?"

Giggling at the suggestion, Charlotte rolled off the side of the bed and darted toward the door with Bass in hot pursuit. His larger steps ate up the distance and she squealed in delight when he wrapped her in a bear hug from behind. His left hand palmed her full breast and squeezed, as his right settled between her legs and fingered her core.

Charlotte sunk into his arms. Closing her eyes she embraced the sensation of the warm breeze across her skin. Desperate to feel him inside of her she pushed back wiggling her bottom into his hard length and smiled at his immediate response. Moments later Bass leaned her forward and entered her from behind in one hard deep thrust. The gasp he drew from her lips urged him to move faster as he pushed her toward completion. When her body clamped around him, Bass followed her over the edge with a loud growl of satisfaction.

Grabbing the blanket that he had left on the railing to air out, Bass settled them onto a hard plastic lounger in the corner of the deck. Bass covered them with the soft throw and he nuzzled her neck as they finished watching the sunrise.

Drifting in and out of a lazy sleep, an hour passed before they heard the screaming and laughter of the boys as the charged over the dune and onto the beach. Releasing a sigh, "Do you think they even ate before they took off?" Bass asked.

"Forget ate, is anyone even watching them?" Charlotte responded as she struggled to get up and get a visual on the noisy hoard as they trampled down the beach. As she tracked their path, Charlotte heard Maddie calling for her and opted to divide and conquer. "You need to get dressed and catch up to them before they get into trouble." Then, in what he could only call a cruel tease, she tossed the blanket at him and strode into the bedroom to retrieve her clothes, before tending to her daughter's needs.

Swinging his legs around he watched her cross the room hips swinging. God she had one hell of an incredible body. He watched as she slid her arms into one of his button down shirts and, intentionally he was sure, bent to step into and slide up a bikini bottom. Determining that torturing himself was not going to grant him a reprieve, Bass took his time dressing. And since there was only so much trouble they could get into on an island, he opted to take a detour to try the mint toothpowder that Charlotte had assured him was far less gritty than the previous one she had purchased – some things were just better before the blackout, and toothpaste was one of them. Thirty minutes later, as he started down the hall he noticed Miles a few paces ahead and sped up, "You being sent out to prevent mischief?"

Snorting Miles pulled open the door and held it for Bass to pass through, "When we were kids, don't you remember our Moms telling us to go outside and come back for dinner? They never seemed to worry about what we got into – it was summer, so we went outside."

Bass laughed at the memory, "Yeah, well using that as your argument might not be the best idea, if I remember correctly we caused a fair amount of trouble. Hey, remember when I dared you to sneak into Mrs. Rodriquez's yard and eat the peppers out of her garden. God your face…"

Miles smacked the back of his head, "You still suck! I had to drink a gallon of milk to stop the burning from those damn Naga Viper peppers."

Bass looked at him stunned, "You still remember the name of those things? Wow, I just figured they were red."

Miles shook his head, "Yeah, you're an ass and an idiot. And I remember the name because my mom made me go apologize for stealing." Pausing his steps Miles asked, "Why are we doing this? We played outside and we're still here."

Bass smiled before replying, "I just do what Charlotte tells me to do; what's your excuse?"

Miles banged his shoulder into Bass as they took the steps that led over the dunes and on to the beach, "I like sex with my wife and she likes to coddle those boys, so we go with her plan."

"Come on, let's find them before they get too far ahead of us. You realize those 4 aren't going to keep the stupid to a minimum."

"Four? Who didn't go?" Miles asked starting to jog down the beach toward the pier.

Laughing Bass pointed up at the pier and waited for Miles to see that Ross had broken off from the group and was sitting reading a book on the edge overlooking the ocean. "Claire got him this great science book, it looks like that is of more interest than exploring with his brothers and uncles." Then turning his head up Bass called out to his son.

Ross looked up from his book and smiled, "If you are looking for the fearless foursome they headed up the beach to explore a few abandoned houses in search of treasure."

Grumbling Miles said, "Yeah, because that is not going to end poorly."

Two miles up the beach –

The entire back wall of the 4-story house was comprised of windows and double width sliding glass doors. The structure itself looked to still be sturdy although the stairs that had lead from the beach to the house were clearly long gone. Scampering up the dune, Marcus announced, "This is clearly the one! Four floors, four of us – I say best find wins…" then he took off around the oblong pool and toward the door at the base.

Hot on his heels Noah and Nate banged through the door as Jake decided to climb into the topless Jeep.

Spinning the wheel back and forth and pounding on a sickly sounding horn was how Bass and Miles found Jake 10 minutes later. His laughter and delight evident as he pretended to drive the cherry red Wrangler; Miles smiled at his son before asking, "What'd you find buddy?"

Grinning Jake announced, "I won daddy! Marcus said best find wins and I found this!"

Nodding Miles ruffled his hair and acknowledged, "Yes, I agree! Nothing better than a jeep to ride around in and pickup girls."

Tilting his head in confusion Jake looked at his father and Bass before responding, "Pickup girls? Why do mommy and Eve need to be picked up?"

Miles shook his head before telling Jake to keep playing in his car. Bass held open the door and chuckled at Miles as they went in search of the other three. The first floor had clearly been used for storage only and looked like it had been flooded a number of times over the decades; 4 bikes that hung from the ceiling looked salvageable, a pair of surf boards appeared to be in good condition and a pile of rusted out folding chairs sat in a corner near what was clearly a high end grill. As they climbed onto the second floor they could hear running and laughter coming from above and decided that sounded better than the crying alternative that they anticipated. The 2nd floor had 4 bedrooms that had likely been ransacked decades ago. The house, clearly a show piece in its time, had a room of 4 bunk beds decorated with a baseball theme, and princess themed room with two single beds and two other adult rooms with king sized beds. The crash a moment later forced Miles to groan and admit, "And there's the stupid." Bass followed him up the stairs and watched as Marcus swung a pool cue like a sword atop a high end pool table while Noah attempted to juggle striped billiard balls. Miles looked back at him shaking his head, "Yeah, that makes perfect sense…" before a louder crash emanating from the top floor drew everyone's attention. Reacting to the noise Marcus fumbled the cue and dropped to a sitting position on the table. The three balls Noah had been juggling rolled across the floor and bumped against Miles' foot.

Bass shook his head and instructed Miles, "These two are yours. I'll get the final one."

Before he could continue up to the tower, to discover the source of the noise, Nate came flying down the stairs holding a baseball bat and a glove aloft and announcing, "I win! I found 2 bats, a bag of baseball gloves and a bucket full of baseballs! Way better than those hard balls you are trying to juggle."

Before Bass or Miles could respond, Noah bit back a snipe "Oh, yeah these are so hard, look what they can do!" As he wound up and let loose with a ball flying toward the wall crashing through the window.

"Freeze! You three are done." Miles yelled. The boys responded with whining, but Miles herded them toward the door.

As Nate passed by, Bass placed a hand on his shoulder and redirected him, "Show me where you found the baseball gear." Nate's smile was glowing as he charged back up the stairs to identify his find. Bass looked back at Miles and added, "Hey, baseball equipment is hard to come by and enough so that none of them have to share… totally a find." With a fair amount of boyish glee, Bass charged up the stairs after his son and missed Miles shaking his head as he herded the other two down the stairs.

Ten minutes later Miles had retrieved an air pump, balanced the two surfboards across the back of a bike and assigned each of the 3 boys he had with him a bike to walk back along the road out front of the house. When Bass and Nate met them out front, Nate was carrying the bag of gloves with 2 bats sticking out of it, and Bass had a bucket of balls in one hand with a wooden box balanced precariously in it and had a wooden easel with a thick stack of bound paper tablets under the other arm. Bass looked at Miles and shook with laughter before commenting, "I suppose we should be worried about the message we are sending them that we are just taking this stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess but I've got to agree some of this stuff is super hard to come by." Then Miles nodded toward the wooden box, "Paints?"

Bass smiled, "I figure the girls would really enjoy the chance to paint. You know how much Claire loves that Peru book with all the drawings in it."

Their arrival at the Villas an hour later was greeted by two very confused mothers and a less than happy head of security who was attempting to find a diplomatic way to reprimand the generals for venturing off without escorts.


	11. Chapter 11

Just a short update tonight - I hope you enjoy it. They have one more chapter at the beach and then it is back on the road. BTW: I love hearing feedback - so thanks to everyone who is reading this, hopefully you are enjoying it and if you have a moment I would welcome your thoughts. - B

Chapter 11:

The rays of the sun had barely started to crest over the horizon when Danni and Claire finished dressing in their swim suits and shorts, and grabbed their packs with the water bottles and oat snack bars. They were 5 days into the beach vacation, so with only two days left before they departed, they had decided today would be spent exploring in search of sea glass and shells. "I still can't believe Mom convinced Dad to let us go, he is being so ridiculous! I kiss one boy and now I am subjected to a million questions for the littlest thing" whined Danni.

Chucking a pillow at her sister, "Oh, I feel so bad for you… oh wait I didn't even get to kiss a boy and I get the same punishment, so no - no sympathy." Claire started out the door only to come to a crashing halt at the sight waiting outside in the hall.

Tripping in to her sister, Danni grumbled, "Hello! Walk forward before Dad changes his mind" and that is when she heard what stopped her sister in her tracks.

"I really wouldn't worry about that, I mean why would he make us wake up this early if he was going to cancel?" questioned John.

Stuttering, Claire smiled and waved, "I.. a… hi! Are you coming with us?"

"Duh!" Danni muttered under her breath and pushed past her sister. "Ok, let's go. There's a beach full of shells to comb through before we get to the rocky outcrop that Dad said was the best place to find the sea glass."

Twenty minutes later they had gotten halfway up the beach, the girls stopping every few feet to examine a shell or take a handful to the water to rinse in the ocean before dropping them in a mesh bag attached to Claire's pack. John looked at them, Danni giggling and dancing as she weaved her way along the sand, and Claire quietly studying the ground beneath her for the next piece of treasure. Pausing his step, John placed a hand on Robert's shoulder and asked, "Hey Pike, what's with your girl? Is she always so quiet?"

Rolling his eyes, Robert turned and laughed, "And you thought we could trade without anyone noticing…"

"Hey dickhead, let it go. I get the idea was kind of stupid, but you try being in charge of that flirt for a few hours and see how you like it." John whined.

Looking over at the girls, Robert answered, "She doesn't seem too interested now."

"Shut up. So you are avoiding the question?" John snapped.

Robert started walking again, keeping pace with the girls. It wasn't until almost 5 minutes had passed before he responded, "She's sweet and kind of book-ish like Molly – it's like getting to spend time with my little sister, only better because my sister is annoying. Claire has all these dreams of traveling and seeing places all over the world, but she also feels so responsible, like it is her job to take care of everyone else" pausing, Robert looked at Danni, "and now that I think about it, Danni reminds me of Lola – only difference is Lola is 15, but she is no less subtle in her efforts to get you to look at her."

John laughed, "Great. How is it I attract your little sister and the President's pre-teen daughter?"

Interrupting Robert barked, "and no one our age?"

"Fuck off asshole! I have no problems finding women. It was me that got us those girls the weekend before we got picked for this trip." John bragged before he stormed forward to catch up with the girls.

Claire covertly watched their two guards banter back and forth while she climbed over the driftwood that led to the rocky sandbar. Her eyes skimmed up to Danni when she asked, "So what are we doing with all this stuff you keep finding?"

Pausing to look at her sister, she wondered if Danni had any ability to focus at all, "I told you we are making jewelry. It'll be beautiful and totally original. I think I'll even make a few pieces for Robert's sisters. I am sure he will like that." Pausing her dancing, Danni just stared for a moment before removing her shoes and following her sister onto the rocks to look for glass. Claire looked at her confused and asked, "What are you doing?"

"John has 3 sisters." Danni pronounced as she grabbed at a blue hunk of glass sanded down from years tossing in the ocean.

Hours later:

Slowly Bass walked up the beach toward the blankets that were spread out near the dunes. Claire and Danni appeared to be napping and tanning. Having returned victorious with a bag full of treasure they had deposited themselves on the beach and declared the were too tired to join their brothers for a swim. Bass had found himself passing the heat of the day away teaching his boys to swim, fighting the urge to yell at his daughters to cover up and avoiding Eve and Maddie. He supposed he couldn't put it off any longer and laughed as he saw Miles buried to his neck in sand with Eve and Maddie continuing to dump more on top of him. Bass smiled as Maddie looked up and noticed him. Tossing her plastic faded pink shovel to the ground she ran to him and wrapped her little arms around his leg, "Look daddy! We captured grandpa and covered him in sand!" she said gleefully.

Laughing Bass picked her up and lifted her above his head, spinning her around while she giggled and clapped. Lowering Maddie he kissed her on the cheek and placed her on the ground. "I don't think his toes are fully covered. Do you?"

"Actually girls, it looks like Maddie's daddy is waiting to be buried." Miles responded helpfully.

The girls leapt up and started pulling at Bass' arms. "Thanks, really appreciate the help." Bass muttered as he lowered himself onto the sand and watched as the girls started to toss sand onto him.

That was how Nora and Charlotte found them a half hour later when they returned followed by 5 Militia members carrying piles of driftwood for what was clearly going to be a large bonfire.

"Well, well – what happened here?" Nora asked.

Eve smiled up at her mother before responding, "Look mommy, we helped daddy and Bass hide in the sand!"

Snickering Nora ran her hands through Eve's deep auburn hair, "Great work baby. Can you dig your daddy out now so he can help with finding the boys?"

Miles watched as Eve nodded, while she and Maddie began digging him and Bass out. After a minute it struck him what his wife had said and he looked up at her confused, "Tell me they didn't go missing again?"

"No." responded Charlotte, "they are up on the pier fishing for dinner, but how else were you two planning on e-s-c-a-p-i-n-g without h-u-r-t-i-n-g little feelings?"

Brushing at his legs Miles noted, "It is really going to s-u-c-k when these two learn to spell."

Bass leaned in and kissed his wife before asking, "Please tell me we are not depending on them catching fish for dinner?"

Patting his chest, Charlotte responded, "No we are going to cook out on the beach, but we have food. I would never count on fish to feed this lot." Just as she said those words Bass and Miles started to laugh and point at the conquering heroes tramping across the beach carrying – what looked to be, at least 7 fish. Charlotte nodded and laughed before admitting, "I never should have doubted them."


	12. Chapter 12

Hello All! A couple of quick notes for this chapter: I continue to own very little, actually now that I think about it I really only own the children I created for this series of stories... Additionally, I tried something different with this chapter... Billy Burke is an AMAZING singer so I thought it would be fun to have him playing guitar and singing late in this chapter, and after days of listening to music I found two great songs to use - _Arms_ by Christina Perri and _I lived_ by OneRepublic - I clearly own neither of these, but if you haven't heard them you totally should! Thanks for all the reviews, I really love hearing people's thoughts - B

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><p><span>Chapter 12<span> -

Miles stepped back in from the deck and leaned against the open door breathless at the sight of Nora still sound asleep, lying flat on her stomach. Smiling his gaze scanned down to her still toned bubble butt and he felt himself harden. He was very fortunate… she was sexy as hell, had a great ass and loved to sleep naked – all good things in his mind. Pondering his fortune he had to acknowledge that he never envisioned this. He would be 60 in just a few years, there was a time not long after the blackout, that he wasn't sure he would live past 40. He had been sure Charlotte would be his only child. At 35 Nora was still so young and beautiful, he could only thank God that she had never known General Matheson the warrior – he suspected the violence and formation of a country would have been far less appealing than the Commander of the Militia he was when she first met him. Suddenly he was startled out of his maudlin trek through his past and the ogling of her fantastic body by a mumble coming from the pillow, "It's our last day. Get back in bed and put those large calloused hands to good use." Dropping his robe as he walked, Miles slid in alongside her and splayed his hand at the small of her back before skimming it south and giving the globe of her ass and quick squeeze.

Nora had still not lifted her head, but taunted, "You better be up for finishing anything you start."

At her smart response, Miles smacked her ass and whispered in her ear, "Seeing you always gets me ready to go. I was actually thinking, maybe… Eve could use a little sister?"

Nora scrambled out of bed and with hands thrust out away from the naked hips he found drool inducing and she glared at him, "Have you lost your mind? I never really lost all the weight from having Marcus and Jake so close together and forget this pudge left over from your sweet angel Eve! If I have another kid I will have to concede total defeat!"

Miles leaned up on his elbow and grinned at her rant. Assessing his wife he smiled, sure her hips were a bit wider, and those great tits were definitely much bigger, but that was a good thing; of course her ass was still perfect.

Tossing a pillow at his head, "Hey focus! We are done having kids – am I clear?" she declared more than questioned.

Reaching for her hand, Miles pulled her back down on top of him with a boyish grin that she found hard to resist. Waiting until she was looking directly into his chocolate eyes Miles confirmed what his body was already telling her; "I find this body even more attractive than the way you looked when we first married, and I suspect you can feel your impact."

Pushing against his chest, Nora levered herself up and over his thick shaft before slowly inching her way down. Smirking she figured he didn't need to know that most likely nothing would come of today, she could estimate that it was a bit too early for her to need to worry. Miles settled his hands on those soft globes and guided her hips in a steady rhythm. Seeing her breast bounce and feeling those perfect cheeks, it did not take him long to find a pace that sent them both over the edge – Nora's head lolling back as she called out his name before collapsing onto his chest. Muttering Nora nuzzled her check against his hard chest, "I think we should go back to sleep." The rumble of his consent indicated he was likely already half asleep, so she settled in closer and closed her own eyes as the summer breeze warmed them.

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><p>From the top of the stairs that led to the beach Robert watched the action below. This was certainly a different assignment than he ever considered when he and John decided they would rather attend the Military academy than become farmers. His father had been supportive, attempting to remind his mother that the Republic was at peace, but she had been so afraid he would be shipped off to the border. He had just wanted to see something other than the farmland surrounding Spring Lake, North Carolina. In the ocean he could see General Monroe attempting to demonstrate how to surf. It was unclear if the General had ever known how or if he was just extremely out of practice, but all 5 boys appeared to be laughing at the grinning man from their spot on the sand. As the board floated rider less toward the sand he saw as Danni popped up from under the water and attempted to mount the board. Her brothers and uncles cheered at the new rider and when she got the board turned around she began to paddle out toward where her father was treading water. That one was a handful and if he had to guess it was because she was more than a little insecure. It likely was not easy being the daughter and grand-daughter of two of the most powerful men on the continent. Moreover, having a confident, thoughtful identical twin likely did nothing for her uncertainty in her role in this world. He wondered how Claire and Danni made friends… or if they even had friends. John lived on the neighboring farm; his parents were friends with the Pike family. Do daughters of a president have friends? Do they even go to school or are they sheltered and tutored? During the conversation he had had last night with General Matheson the man had indicated that they would be traveling through Spring Lake and had hoped to camp near his family's home – if his father permitted. Snorting, Robert was positive his father would be honored to host the traveling party – he could brag at the local market for years about hosting the President. The stop would be a good thing – sort of… he missed his family, but he guessed that Danni and Lola would not get along. He could just picture the moment when poor Danni saw Lola flirting with John. Sadly Danni and his sister Lola were so much alike, but is seemed both of them had developed an inexplicable infatuation with his best friend – the world's biggest moron. Thankfully they were both far too young for John to be actually interested in either of them – that was a fight he wanted no part of seeing. Noticing that Danni had managed to ride most of the way into shore before bailing off the board he clapped. Starting down the stairs he headed off down the beach toward his charge. Claire was wearing a ridiculous, big floppy, straw hat that appeared to have a remnant of electric pink fabric tied at the base in a bow. Having decided the only option for giving her the books was to say he found them in the unit they were staying in, it appeared that giving them to her when her returned her Machu Picchu book was the most appropriate time. Sitting down on the sand next to her blanket, Robert examined what she was doing. Claire had spread out her spoils from their exploration and appeared to be using strips of leather to make necklaces.<p>

Without looking up Claire held up a hand and dangled the necklace she was working on, before speaking, "Father said we were going to be staying with your family. He said he intends to send a rider ahead to warn them, which is likely a good idea. This could be a gift for one of your sisters. It is a Calico Scallop shell…" pausing she appeared to be considering her offer, "…if you think they might like something like this." She didn't wait for a response before she continued, "I made one out of a Banded Tulip shell, as well. They both had holes in them already so it was easy to do. You could give one to each sister. If I could figure out how to make a hook for the sea glass I might even have something for you to give to your mother…" she ended her chatter hesitantly.

Through her entire speech she had not looked at him once, never lifted her head. Smiling he knew she and Molly would make excellent friends, they were both such thoughtful, sweet little girls. "It would be wonderful to be able to give those as gifts, but don't you want to have them for yourself? That pink stripped one with the pointy end is really pretty."

Tilting her head up she finally looked at him with a chuckle, "That is the Banded Tulip." Then reaching for another shell, "This is my favorite the Lightning Whelk, the creamy color, the way the shell curves and spirals – it is just so beautiful. I will find a way to make something from this one." Timidly she pushed the two completed necklaces at him. "Here, really I want them to have something from the beach; you talked about them a lot while we rode, so they clearly are very important."

Reaching out he took the necklaces "Thanks! They will both be so excited. Hey I wanted to return your Peru book. You were right; it was so incredible the journey that the author took. It got me wondering what it would be like to go there."

Claire reached for the book and gently rubbed her hand along the cover, softly she said, "Someday I will go there. I'll take a boat down to South American and hike until I find it; and it won't be the only place I go. I'll find a way to see all kinds of places."

Somehow Robert didn't doubt that. Yes, she would likely have to fight her father first before she could go 5 miles away much less to another continent, but Claire was determined and would find a way. Reaching into his bag, Robert pulled out the two books he had bought, "I…uh… found these in the unit we are staying in and figured you would enjoy them."

From in the water Robert heard his name called, "Hey Pike! The General said we could take a turn on the surf boards. You coming?" yelled John.

Dropping the books on the blanket, Robert stood and started toward the ocean. Claire reached for the books to read the titles, "_Travel Around China_" and "_Eyewitness Travel Guides: Italy_". Softly she whispered, "Wow" and with a beaming smile she began to page through the books – these were the same books she had left on the table in Richmond, the ones she had desperately wanted, but hadn't had the courage to buy.

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><p>Late that evening, after the bonfire had been set and the entire family had settled in to stare up at the stars and enjoy a last night on the beach Charlotte contemplated how wonderful her life was; the boys were laughing and banging their shoulders in to each other, she sat encased in her husband's arms with little Maddie's head resting on her lap while she played with the fine blonde curls and her father had taken out his guitar to play for the family. Nora had selected the first song. It was one she said he wrote for her, Bass had whispered that it was sung by a woman named Christina Perri, but Charlotte didn't care.<p>

Miles strummed a series of cords creating a soft melody before his deep scratchy voice joined the rising music, "_I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart, but you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start. You put your arms around me and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go. You put your arms around me and I'm home_."

Bass pulled her tighter into his chest before murmuring into her ear, "I get it. I could never let you go, but it would likely be much easier for you to let an old lug like me go."

Charlotte's hand rose to cup the scratchy beard Bass had let grow out during their vacation, "I wouldn't, no couldn't live a day without you, much less let you go, but…" she paused to torture him a bit, "…if you shave off this scruff, I might need to think about my options…"

Bass started to nuzzle her neck before saying, "Smart ass! You have no options." Somewhere between their conversation and staring at the stars and waves the song had ended and Bass heard Claire begging her Grandpa to play the song he wrote for her. Bass shook his head, Miles was so lucky the recording industry died with the lights or he would also be sued by OneRepublic, because Bass was certain "_I Lived_" was their song.

Miles began by plucking once through, at 4 repeating cords then chanted out the faster paced words, "_Hoping you take that jump; But don't fear the fall; Hope when the water rises; You built a wall; Hoping the crowd screams out; Screaming your name; Hope if everybody runs; You choose to stay; Hope that you fall in love; And it hurts so bad; The only way you can know; Is give it all you have; And I hope that you don't suffer; But take the pain; Hope when the moment comes you say; I, I did it all; I, I did it all; I owned every second; That this world could give, I saw so many places; The things that I did; With every broken bone, I swear I lived; Hope that you spend your days; But they all add up; And when that sun goes down; Hope you raise your cup; I wish that I could witness; All your joy and all your pain; But until my moment comes; I'll say I, I did it all; I, I did it all; I owned every second; That this world could give; I saw so many places; And things that I did; With every broken bone I swear I lived_…"

As Miles moved into the repeating of the final chorus, Bass shuddered as he watched Claire grinning and swinging her arms while dancing to her song. It frightened him to know how much this song spoke to something inside of her soul. In another time, Claire would have had a passport and would likely have backpacked across Europe or hiking on the Inca trail in Peru. God, he never should have read her that damn book. Someday he was going to have to accept he could not protect her forever because Claire wanted to be able to say she did it all.

Charlotte snuggled in closer. Clearly having read his mind, she selected her words to comfort him, "Stop worrying. She's 12 and she might still find a reason to stay instead of setting off exploring the world."

Kissing the top of Charlotte's head, Bass smiled, "I guess, a part of me is a little sad that she can't have those experiences, can't see those places she reads about. She showed me two new travel books she found… China and Italy…". Bass' words drifted off as he shook his head.

And silently Charlotte wondered if Bass wouldn't have burned those books if he knew they were gifts from Robert. She smiled at the giddiness Claire had expressed earlier in the afternoon when she showed her mother the books and explained where they really came from. Charlotte thought it was a very sweet gesture, and certainly kind toward an elderly woman who likely had a difficult time living off selling books. Robert was a good boy, maybe Bass didn't have to worry about Claire setting off to rediscover the world… maybe Claire would take after her mother and fall in love. Hoping to comfort her moody husband she replied, "Don't worry we will always have Danni and Maddie."


	13. Chapter 13

I took advantage of yet another snow day - let me just say 6 feet 2 inches in 2 weeks is WAY TOO MUCH snow! This chapter was a chance for Danni to take a step into the spotlight and it allows me to highlight Charlotte's mother daughter relationship. - I hope you enjoy and I welcome the reviews - thanks - B.

**Chapter 13**:

"My son says you made good time coming across the state. He mentioned your boat docked at around 10am this morning, it couldn't have been too much past 5pm in the evening when your party arrived… not bad." A little intimidated by the idea of what was supposed to be a casual conversation with such a powerful and feared man, Mark Pike continued to stare out over his fields as he and General Matheson spoke. "Have you ever been in this area before?"

Miles leaned forward on the fence before answering, "Pre- or post-blackout?" He paused only briefly in his response, not expecting an answer. "Bass and I were first through here on leave; we were meeting up with a buddy from our first tour in Iraq that was stationed at Fort Bragg. Now that trip was making good time, we had a couple of sorority girls we met in Chapel Hill and a convertible; barely took 2 ½ hours and since Bass drove I drank and got 'friendly' with one of those girls." Miles grinned at the memory before continuing, "We've been through this way more than a few times since the blackout; it just didn't require force to fold this region into the Republic."

"Yeah, I wouldn't imagine it would." Mark agreed, "I've live here my whole life – father was stationed at Bragg, something about military keeping to its own kind tells me you boys would have been welcomed – my own father was a big supporter."

Miles wasn't sure how he should take the 'boys' comment, though this was the south, so he supposed it shouldn't bother him that a kid was using the term. Then he paused, when did a 40 year-old man start qualifying as a kid – God, he was getting to old for this shit. When the man started speaking again Miles turned his body to watch where camp was being set up while he listened. Despite multiple offers to use the house from the man they had decided they would be camping.

"Mind if I ask… it's not that I am questioning you or the President, but… what could you possibly want with my 18 year-old son and his idiot friend. Growing up, those two always seemed to find trouble; it was part of the reason John's father Gray and I decided to send them to the academy. Actually, it was that or keep trying to prevent them from getting shot at by the fathers of the local girls." Mark's words drifted off as he saw the stunned look on the General's face.

Seconds later Miles was bent over howling, it took almost 5 minutes and more than a few tears running down his face before he could compose himself enough to choke out a response, "That is priceless. I… a… I'm not even sure how to explain this, but Bass picked your son and his friend because he figured they could keep the attention of his twin girls, so that he wouldn't have to worry about any local farm boys enticing them into trouble. In fairness… I liked them because they reminded me of Bass and I when we were that age; I figured I could anticipate their moves, because we were them. Nice to know I was right about that."

At hearing the explanation, Mark found himself laughing as well. "Yeah, my son does the whole good looking, appealing to girls thing pretty well, he's been a charmer since birth." Thinking about it for a moment, "Actually, Gray's son John was the real heart breaker. My own girl, Lola, cried for a month after he left and he didn't even realize she was alive."

"I get that – my granddaughter Danni is… very attached to John. It is kind of a little embarrassing her awkward attempts to flirt. Thankfully, John sees her for the 12 year-old she is." Miles pauses confused to see Bass departing on horseback with Danni, John and 4 guards. Starting to walk toward the camp, Miles commented more than asked, "Do you mind if I go investigate that?"

Letting the older man leave Mark sighed with relief. He was happy for his son… this was a good assignment, but it was a little unnerving thinking that his boy was charged with ensuring the safety of the Butcher of Baltimore's granddaughter.

Miles moved quickly toward the tents to intercept his daughter and figure out what was happening, "Charlotte, where is your idiot husband going?"

Charlotte looked surprisingly nervous as she pondered her response. Defensively, without turning to face her father she finally answered him, "My husband is not currently responsible for 'letting the stupid' get out of hand – that would be my daughter's fault." Pausing to look up and see the confusion on Miles' face she decided to just own it, "Danni sort of got into an argument with the Pike girl, Lola over John…"

Before Miles could respond Mark had reappeared and was clearly attempting an approach to apologizing. Not waiting to hear a word, Miles decided to defuse the situation, "Evidently, my granddaughter lacks subtlety in a number of areas."

The sigh of relief seemed to loosen the tension on the man's face, "It appears my Lola is a little too possessive of something that isn't hers as well."

Charlotte gently patted the man's forearm and smiled, "It's hard to tell a young girl at any age that the man she thinks she loves isn't really hers – I was very possessive of Bass and used to do horrible things to the women who would attend events he and my father held. I had myself convinced that if I just got rid of everyone else he would realize I was perfect for him – the plan took 3 years before he even knew I existed."

Snorting Miles responded, "Yeah, we all knew what you were up too." The other man smiled knowingly at the exchange, then Miles decided to push again at what Bass was up to, "So, how does an argument between two little girls result in Bass riding out on horseback?"

"John suggested that staying at his family's farm might be a smarter choice and Bass thought Danni and Lola could use a calming down period, so to speak" explained Charlotte.

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><p><span>Five miles away<span> –

The traveling party galloped up to the brick front Antebellum home and Bass watched as John swung down from his mount before rushing up the stairs to greet the three young girls playing on the veranda. As he pulled his stallion to a stop, he dismounted and approached Danni's mare. Reaching up he helped her slide off the horse and took the opportunity to prep his daughter, "Danni, you need to behave. These people are John's family and your mother and I were already embarrassed once today." Pausing to ensure she was listening, he looked directly into her eyes, "You are not dating him. You are too young to be dating anyone and if you don't start behaving I will leave Lance Corporal Grant here. Am I clear?"

Remorsefully Danni lowered her head and muttered, "Yes, daddy."

Seconds later their conversation was interrupted, by a man who looked to be an older, salt-and-pepper version of John, as he first hugged his son before stepping forward to greet his guests. Bass softly instructed his daughter to smile and make her mother proud, before reaching out and shaking the man's hand. After Gray explained that his wife was in the kitchen making dinner and extended the offer to join them, Danni remembered her manners and suggested, "I would welcome the opportunity to help?" In fairness, Bass would be shocked if his princess knew anything about cooking or even how to boil water – God knows his wife could burn toast, but he didn't give her up and he watched her walk away with the oldest of the three girls from the porch that had stepped up behind her father. Bass offered a bottle of Jack he was carrying and agreed to explain the answer to Gray's question about why anyone would want John to act as a guard to anything more important than a pillow.

* * *

><p><span>Inside the kitchen at the back of the house<span> –

Shyly Danni stepped into a room that ran the length of the back of the house and watched as a small, stocky woman bent over a mixing bowl at a large island. Softly she murmured, "Hi, I'm Danni Monroe and I was wondering if you could use some help?... I… uh… don't know how to do much, but I've always wanted to learn to cook…".

The rounded face that looked up gave a large, genuine smile, clapped the flour off her hands and said, "Well what a sweet and beautiful young lady. I was so excited to be seeing my boy again; I've been working since early this morning making all of his favorite pastas. Your help would be wonderful."

Stepping toward the island Danni looked at the various bowls. Confused she examined the red, and orange, and green mush in three of the bowls, "You're making pasta out of that?"

The gleeful mirth on the woman's face surprised Danni and she waited for an explanation. "My boy never wanted to eat his vegetables when he was little. John would just sit there waiting until we would give up. He was my first, I was barely 20 when I had him, his little brother was sickly; so one day I whined to my mother and she said I needed to take control; then she told me her secret – mash up the veggies and mix them into pasta."

Danni was startled and confused by the woman's story, but waited to help in whatever way possible. Looking around the kitchen she saw red and green flecked noodles hanging over a rack drying and she saw 2 inch squares that looked to be stuffed with something. She watched and listened as Mrs. Grant explained how to make Bell Pepper linguine. After the second demonstration, Danni found herself standing flush against the island with Mrs. Grant helping her pour out the milled wheat, crack the eggs without losing the pieces of shells and slowly mix in the water; yellow, red, and green bell peppers, and salt. Danni let her take over kneading it into dough and after she set it aside to rest, Danni asked, "What exactly are in all of those squares and why are those hanging ones red and green?"

Smiling up at the young girl who had several inches on her, Mrs. Grant explained, "The linguine are tomato basil, and there are two kinds of filled ravioli harvest squash - that has butternut squash, onions, pumpkin, ricotta cheese, hazelnuts, and brown sugar in them; and wild mushroom and asparagus which has spinach in the dough and mushrooms, ricotta cheese, onions, parmesan cheese, white wine, garlic, asparagus, and lemon in the filling. If you want I could give you the recipes? I know my Johnny would be excited if he could eat these while he was living so far away."

* * *

><p><span>3 Hours later<span> –

"Mom! It was so cool! John's mom taught me to cook and it was so delicious and she even gave me the recipes! Isn't that great?" Danni rambled on as she walked around the main tent and shared all the events of her night with her mother.

Charlotte sat on the bed roll her insane husband insisted was the only way to camp and watched her sweet girl animatedly share all she had learned. After an infinitesimal pause, Charlotte jumped in, "I am really glad you had fun and it would be great if you could teach our cooks to use those recipes when we get home, God knows your brothers don't voluntarily eat vegetables." Pondering a moment, Charlotte considered her next words, "Danielle, sweetheart, I want you to sit and listen to me." She waited until her daughter was sitting next to her, Charlotte slipped her arm around her daughter and began speaking, "You are still very young and I know you think you are grown up, and that you are in love with John. I'm not saying you aren't, but you have to understand that he is 18 and you are only 12. You can't make him love you, no matter how much you want to… I know. I can't remember a time when I wasn't in love with your father and, when I was your age, I tried to get his attention. You need to realize that, if you keep pushing him, he will never realize how special you are. Let yourself grow up, spend time with your sisters and brothers and uncles and aunt; spend time with me and your father and your grandparents; get to know who you are and what matters to you and, when you are much older, you will find a man that loves you just the same way your father love me. Don't ever settle for less."

Sullenly Danni nodded in agreement then leaning in to her mother for comfort she waited for her to continue talking.

Kissing the top of her daughter's head she continued, "We are staying here at least another day. Tomorrow you will apologize to the Pikes, particularly to Lola." Placing a finger over her daughter's lips before she could argue, "No, you'll do what I tell you or you can stay here tomorrow when we go to the special treat your father discovered. Am I clear?"

Softly Danni muttered, "Yes, mommy."

Squeezing her shoulder Charlotte smiled, "Ok, my mini-me go to bed."

Danielle rose and started toward the flap. As she reached out to lift the fabric and return to her own tent she paused to ask a question and turned, "Mom, when I was cooking with Mrs. Grant she said John had a little brother that was sickly, but he wasn't at dinner and John never talks about him…"

Charlotte gave her sweet-natured daughter a sad smile, "You've led a sheltered life. Your father and I want to protect you, but you are getting older and there are realities of this world that you will learn. Likely, John's brother died. If he was 'sickly' as you say then he probably needed medical attention that no longer exists." Seeing her daughter's tears, Charlotte rose and engulfed her girl in a hug. "This is why I want you to spend time with your family and learn who you are. This is why you need to decide what interests you, what makes you happy. Because there is a great deal of sadness in the world and hard things happen, but if you love yourself and you are closely connected to your family, you can survive anything – we will always be with you to make sure of it."

Pushing up on her toes, Danielle kissed her mom and slipped out of the tent to join her sisters and aunt in their tent, missing her father hiding just outside the flap. Bass stepped in a moment later and took Charlotte in his arms, "You are an amazing mother! I am so lucky you never gave up on me noticing you. In fact, I am thrilled you waited until I was mature enough to realize how perfect you have always been. You know us men, we catch on slow."

Charlotte batted his chest and grinned, "I know you were worth the wait."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

"I think you should go see what is keeping your parents. Didn't they promise you a surprise today?" Miles grinned deviously as his identical grandson stumbled over each other attempting to get up and beat each other toward the flap on their parent's tent. Of course that left him unprepared for the smack to the back of his head a moment later.

"That was unnecessary and cruel. Are you really trying to scar Nate and Noah for life with what they will likely walk in on?" Nora rounded on him, but didn't have any real power behind the reproof.

Snaking his arms around her waist, Miles pulled her onto his lap and began placing sucking kisses along her collar bone. Mumbling into her skin he replied, "I shouldn't have to be the only one whose retinas were scarred by that image." Moaning Nora ignored his less than focused rant in favor of the feel of his lips. Running her hands along his shoulder Nora was startled seconds later when she was dumped on her ass, as Miles was shocked by the syrupy voice behind him.

"Don't worry Daddy, Bass and I have been up for hours, we wanted to take an early morning skinny dip; so the only thing those two will see is an empty rack. Besides, I've been traumatized by you two enough for a lifetime of therapy."

Looking up Miles saw Charlotte glaring down at him, hands on her hips and Bass chortled at her side. Rubbing his hand over his face, Miles groaned, "Again, stop with the visuals! A swim – you were only taking a swim… nothing more."

With an evil grin Bass added, "Sure, we were swimming, just naked! You know the water is the perfect temperature for…"

"Damn it Bass! How many times have I told you not to share details about your antics with my daughter? And sneaking up on me is just wrong." Miles yelled.

Trying to look sympathetic Charlotte asked, "Oh, poor daddy. Did we give your weak old heart a scare?"

As she brushed herself off Nora grumbled, "No, his heart is fine, it's my ass that hurts from being dumped on the ground."

Miles reached for her smiling as he offered, "I'll kiss it and make it better…" causing Bass to erupt into laughter as Charlotte shuddered at the image, and earning a swat from his wife. "Fine, Charlotte why don't you and Nora gather the kids in the wagon so we can get started." Miles stood and watched them depart before turning toward Bass to address some business. "Blanchard should be here with his great-grandson by now. Did the last intel say he would meet us at the field?"

Starting to walk away from the rest of the family Bass nodded, "Yes, he joined up with the team just after their last game and before they crossed the border. The update outpost guards said he had a very small contingent of men with him, but left and entire garrison of rangers at the border – damn idiot thinks he needs guards he is kidding himself. They also said that he had two of his great-grandsons with him."

Miles shook his head and grinned, "If it had been Carver all these years we might have considered it, but we have solid trade with Frank and I hear Tre is being groomed to take over instead of his father."

Shaking with laughter Bass acknowledged the gossip, "Jr was really a piece of work. I heard he was floating around California; but his son is supposed to be a really strong option; and hey if that doesn't work how old is little Frankie?"

Patting his friends back, Miles choked out, "I'd guess 15, so you might want to avoid calling him 'Little Frankie' during this visit. Why are we having his meeting anyway?"

Shaking his head and starting back toward the horses, Bass sputtered, "Hey your guess is as good as mine – we both read the same letter."

Standing alongside her best friend Charlotte watched as Bass called for John and Robert to join him, while Miles moved to address the remainder of the Militia guards. Their entire attitude seemed off for a day that was supposed to be fun for the children. She listened as Nora got the children settled and welcomed Robert's sisters into the wagon, wishing she could hear the conversation between her husband and the boys. Deciding on an approach that might work, Charlotte started toward them with a broad smile.

"… I don't want them leaving the park once we enter – is that understood?" Bass continued his lecture unaware of his wife's approach.

Circling his waist with her arms Charlotte rested her head on his broad back before speaking, "I am sure after all of these weeks they know their jobs. Boys why don't you mount up – the general and I have something to discuss."

Looking down at her with a carnal grin Bass asked, "And what would you like to discuss Mrs. Monroe?"

Releasing her hold, Charlotte circled around to face her husband before speaking. With one hand splayed over his heart she sweetly explained, "If don't tell me what is actually going on today then the only people reaching base will be the men on the field."

Smirking at her threat, Bass reached out for a grasp on her hips before whispering in her ear, "Awe… but you know how much I adore 2nd base. It is my favorite and I don't remember any complaints on that last grand slam I banged out."

Bass could almost feel the eye roll she gave, he certainly felt the smack he got for his play on words. Determining that she would not be happy unless he was upfront with her, he explained, "Frank Blanchard sent a message requesting a meeting, but he asked for something quiet – inconspicuous. Jeremy forwarded it by train to us while we were in Richmond with the suggestion that Blanchard arrange for a friendly baseball game between one of the Texas league teams and one of our Carolina league teams – in fairness Jeremy had also already sent word of that to Frank and to one of the local teams. Miles and I agreed that it would allow us to talk a little business while the kids were entertained and it wouldn't look like anything significant; and before you ask, neither of us know the topic of the meeting."

Grumbling, "Fine, but your punishment for keeping this from me is you get to ride in the wagon with the kids." Charlotte pushed away from him and called out to Nora, "Great news! Miles and Bass are giving us the horses so they can ride with the kids in the wagon."

Miles looked confused as, in response to her words, Nora leapt down from the back and raced toward the mounts calling out "Have fun!" behind her.

Glaring a Bass, Miles groused, "What the hell, Bass?" as he hopped up into the back with the yelling, excited children.

"Quit your bellyaching and let's explain to the kids where we are going." Bass added as he joined the group.

Moments later the party was underway and Bass was deep into his explanation of what a barnstorming baseball game was, "Back when Grandpa here was young…" he said as he elbowed Miles, "…there were professional baseball teams all across the country, but before players got to the major league teams they would play in the minors. One of the best known was the Carolina League – I'm not really sure if the Durham Bulls were actually part of the original Carolina League, they had a movie made about them that I loved – anyway, the Carolina league had been around for 110 years before the blackout and even though professional sports as we knew it is gone, about 10 years ago we convinced some teams to start up again. The teams travel all over the south playing games and Uncle Jeremy arranged a game against a Texas team the Midland Rockhounds." Listening to the eruption of cheers from the boys, Bass smiled, while he waited to field their questions.

An hour later, Bass had thrown out the first pitch with a surprising level of skill, according to Miles, and Jake had been coached to yell, "Play Ball!" which was met with cheers from the crowd. Everyone had settled into seats with plates of barbecue to watch the game, before Charlotte whispered, "It was a smart move politically to both pay for this game and arrange a free cook out for the locals…"

Before she could continue her thought, a robust, red haired man with a thick beard interrupted, "Well Lady Monroe never let it be said that your snake of a husband doesn't know how to play good politics."

Looking up shocked at the insult to her husband, Charlotte saw a second, grizzled man with shoulder length grey hair and a scruffy beard standing next to him. "General Blanchard it is so good of you to bring along Mr. Franklin. I imagine few people in Texas get the pleasure of enjoying his company – at least voluntarily."

With a hard chortle Frank bent and reached out for Charlotte's hand. Softly kissing her knuckles, he addressed her, "Always a pleasure to see one so beautiful as you. I never know what surprises me more – that you are the daughter of such a grouchy, ugly old curmudgeon or that you chose to marry so far beneath your obvious importance."

Before she could respond, Bass had muttered a greeting to Frank and John; and was attempting to escort them off to meet with Miles. The final comment she heard was her husband threatening his guests, "…how many times have I told you to stop flirting with my wife?"

In the field along first base Danni and Claire sat under the watchful eyes of John and Robert while the 4 ate and enjoyed the game. Leaning into her sister to comment on the muscled young man playing 1st base, Danni's attention was distracted from the batter and missed the foul ball hit in their direction. Claire yelped startled by the ball flying toward them and dove toward Robert for protection, as a lanky tall boy wearing a cowboy hat leapt in front of them and caught the ball with a hand sewn glove. Looking up with a radiant smile, Danni was captivated by the young man that was staring down at her with a triumphant smirk. Softly she said, "Oh, thank you. It was so incredible that catch you made – are you on one of the teams."

As Robert helped Claire up and checked to see if she was ok, John stepped in between Danni and the intruder, "Danielle, I am sure this boy just got lucky. My guess is that his father is the coach or manager of that Texas team and he spends a lot of time chasing balls."

Sizing up the broad shoulders of the pit bull standing between him and the young lady, Frank decided to make his play. "I appreciate your brother's wit, but as the heir to Texas I don't have time, nor do I need to chase anything – I get chased."

Confused at their banter, Danni stood and tilted her head before examining the young man from head to toe. The growl from John didn't distract her, as she attempted to level the bewitching smiled she and Claire had been practicing for weeks, "Well, it is very wonderful to meet you, 'Mr. Heir to Texas'." She said as she thrust out her hand, "I am Danni – Danielle Monroe and this is Claire Monroe and these are our guards, not our brothers. Our brothers are out past left field attempting to catch a homerun ball with our uncles."

Growling John attempted to interrupt, "Danielle, you don't know this boy or anything about him – we should return to your father and grandfather."

Enjoying the role of devil, Frank extended his hand with the ball to Danni and introduced himself, "I doubt either your father or grandfather are available, as they are meeting with my great grandfather – I am Frank Blanchard the fourth and it is my pleasure to meet the stunning Monroe twins, particularly you Miss Danni."

"Oh, that's it." John yelled as he grabbed Danni's arm, "You are going back to you mother and away from that lecherous Casanova." Danni attempted to smile over her shoulder as she grasped the ball in one hand and was dragged along by a clearly angry John.

As they approached her parents John noticed the two large older men in cowboy hats speaking with General and Mrs. Monroe. Slowing he considered his choice of words in case there was any truth to the boy's story. "Pardon General sir, but your daughter needs to sit with Mrs. Monroe now. There was a…uh… there was a threat." John announced.

All three men stood at that statement and stared at the young military officer who was still holding the elbow of the General's daughter. Beyond the couple approached Robert and Claire with 'Mr. Smooth talking Cowboy hat', as John was now mentally referring to him. After the other three had joined the party, General Blanchard spoke up, "Bass, Mrs. Monroe allow me to introduce my great grandson, Frank. Frank this is President Monroe and his wife," then in a gruffer tone of reproach, "…it appears you have already met their daughters."


	15. Chapter 15

_Hello all - a quick author's note: after being away for most of the last week, I both need to catch up on reading and reviewing, but I wanted to update this story first. I hope you enjoy it - it is by far the longest chapter of any I have written, but I tried to have a little fun with it. I do reference a song by Darius Rucker - Homegrown Honey, I do not own the song, but I enjoy listening to it on my iPhone. Thank you for all the support and reviews - it means a great deal. - B_

_Chapter 15_ -

Later that same night –

General Blanchard watched the bonfire blazing from the tree stump in the shadows and took another drink – damn, but Bass and Miles traveled with good whiskey, at least once a year before they had settled into a solid trade agreement he had considered invading just so he could annex Tennessee and the world's best whiskey. Frowning Frank monitored his great grandson as he attempted to work his charm the Monroe twins. If pressed he would have to say Frankie was an idiot, it was either that or just didn't appreciate all of his body parts and how much better it was to keep them attached. Looking at the assembly surrounding the fire, Frank noticed the two girls first. They appeared identical, but clearly weren't. The shy one was clearly a thinker – god knows who she inherited that trait from – Miles was a gifted strategist and military mind, Bass was a charming son of a bitch but he also knew how to lead a country, and Charlotte was a whole lot of passion wrapped up in a fine body – damn Bass had the devil's own luck. Claire appeared to have little interest in Frankie's antics and seemed to prefer to split her attention between her book and her body guard. The spitfire, however, was clearly all her mother. She was giggling at his dumb clowning and he suspected if she reached out and stroked his arm once more the lug that was gnawing his teeth next to her might come off his leash. Preferring to return the boy in one piece he called out, "Frankie, find your brother we're headed back to our camp." Stunned the boy turned and considered arguing, before he saw the look and chose to bid the ladies a goodnight.

Twenty minutes later as they rode off toward camp, Frank decided it was probably better that Troy had opted to stay behind and camp with Ross. Being the same age they would have fun and since Ross was the most likely candidate to inherit the kingdom a friendship between the boys couldn't hurt. Gazing off to the side Frank considered this was likely the best moment for this talk, "Just to be clear, we are traveling with General Monroe, General Matheson, and their families for the next few weeks; and I would bet money that those muscled meatheads that are assigned to guard Claire and Danni have a shoot first, ask questions later standing order. You can't toy with those two the way you did with that local girl your father keeps catching you with – I can't protect you from Bass and Miles. I'm telling you – keep your hands off!"

Muttering agreement, Frankie tried to conceal a grin at the memory of a topless Rose. "Relax Pops, I got this, besides Danni is a real wild one – she likes to play."

Shaking his head, "Dang boy, I might as well just make it easy on you and kill you myself, at least if I did it, it would be painless." They rode for another 15 minutes before reaching the camp. Before either could dismount Frank reached out and grabbed the reins for Frankie's horse, "Don't screw this up for your father and I; these men are our allies and we need them – Am I clear?" Frank bit out.

Rolling his eyes, "Yes, I get it." Frankie bit out.

- Back at the Pike farm

Charlotte leaned back settling between her husband's outstretched legs and cuddled into his strong arms, as they watched the bonfire glow against the black sky. Reaching back Bass grabbed a blanket and spread it over her body to keep out the chill in the air. For a long while they sat, his arms wrapped around her; her even breathing the only sound beyond the crickets. After holding out longer than he expected her to, Charlotte asked, "Why are Frank Blanchard and John Franklin Fry here and what do they want from you and dad?"

Considering his options, Bass decided to see if he couldn't make a less than meaty secret payout. Slowly he began to nuzzle at the sweet spot on her neck. As he felt her shudder, his gravelly whisper tickled her ear, "If you rescind your earlier ruling on no baseball for me, I might be persuaded to brief you on the matter…"

Charlotte chuckled at his obvious attempts to seduce her, "I suppose I could indulge you, as long as I get the full story." The words were barely out before his left hand snaked under her top and he grabbed the soft mound giving a firm squeeze. Gasping Charlotte craned her neck back and laughingly added, "Oh, my! Someone opted to go for a leadoff double."

With a hearty laugh, Bass continued to nuzzle her neck while he worried her nipple. "Hey some guys get turned on by a nice butt, I prefer your perfect soft boobs and I see no reason I can't take what I want, besides with the blanket covering you I figured we could see how far you are willing to let me take it in public."

Ignoring the adolescent rambling Charlotte shook her head and reprimanded, "Sorry stud, information first."

Refusing to remove his calloused hand from his prize, Bass started, "Frank's got a couple of issues and a proposal. California is falling apart, he guesses Jr. might be involved somehow and Mexico has cut off his trade routes from the south. He can't fight three boarder wars, so he needs to know our alliance is strong. He believes he can put off dealing with California while he settles Mexico down. He needs to know we aren't looking at expanding into the California Commonwealth."

Mildly concerned Charlotte asked, "I thought we were settled on the idea that rest of the Plains nation was manageable and increased our growing output, but that trying to assimilate California would be too much?" she paused for a nod from him before asking, "Is he looking to annex Mexico or just reduce the hostilities? And is he hoping you will send troops?"

"So very smart, how did I get so lucky?" Bass responded before answering the questions, "Long term, he intends to take the California Republic – and more power to him, because that region is a mess. Though he would prefer not to have to conquer Mexico, he believes it will likely come to that regardless of what he wants." He waited for her to digest the statements, and when she said nothing further he continued. "He won't contest our expansion into what's left of the Plains Nation and the rest of what was formerly Canada and Alaska, if we agree to help him with his Mexico problem and stay out of the California issue. As you said, neither Miles nor I wanted any part of California and a strong Texas is in our favor, so we'll help with Mexico." Deciding he was done talking Bass slipped the fingers of his other hand into her panties and began to lightly finger her folds.

"Stop right there." Charlotte commanded. "Before we go any further, you need to finish the story."

Unwilling to remove his fingers, Bass grumbled before continuing, "He wants to do a joint shipping venture – our own East India Trading company. He mentioned filling the ships with goods from Texas and our Republic, sailing to South America and trading for coffee beans and chocolate – it removes the issues of traveling through Mexico to reach either product, bringing a third back for each of us and then refilling the ship to bring the final third to Europe. He figures we can explore and see if their interested in trading for whatever they have."

Charlotte nodded in agreement at the plan than skimmed her arm up around his neck, "Ok, that seems like a lame secret, so you better be on your game tonight."

Tweaking her nipple, Bass laughed, "I am always on my game, as long as I have your body to inspire me." The fingers of his other started to flutter along her nerve endings again and she settled back into is body relinquishing herself to his efforts. Nuzzling the scruff of his beard at the base of her neck, Bass' throaty voice penetrated her haze. "You like it when I talk dirty – when I tell you I can feel your sweet juices coating my fingers, how I can barely contain my impatience at wanted to lick them clean, wanting to bury my face between your legs until you explode." He could feel the shiver across her entire being and grinned at the response. "Let go, feel my calloused thumb and index finger tugging on your increasingly rigid nipple, imagine what it would be like to just strip naked here – in the dirty under the blanket of stars, not caring that anyone could catch us, because… I … don't … care." Wiggling her hips into his straining cock, Charlotte moaned his name as she exploded while Bass suckled on her pulse point. Riding out the last of her spasms, Bass grinned and offered, "Shall I carry you to our tent, it appears I have rounded third and I am heading home?"

* * *

><p>- <span>Almost 2 weeks later<span> –

Miles decided the travel through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to make Nashville, Tennessee had been his favorite part of the journey. As they traveled along what had once been route 40, he could see the abandoned airport in the distance. It was hard sometimes to not grumble at how much longer it all took – how hard it was to travel from place to place, but then he got to watch his and Bass' boys laughing and playing as they learned to track animals in the forest, he got to hear them climbing trees to act as look outs, and he got to wake them up before dawn to watch the sunrise over the mist covered valley and he decided this was not a bad world for his sons and grandsons to grow up in – it was different and harder in many ways, but it had its moments. This stop on their tour of the Republic was for him – Music City – the Grand Old Opry, it was like fulfilling a dream. It had occurred to him once, while riding in a convoy in the Middle East, that he would have loved to have been a musician – even if he never made it big, the idea of playing small bars each night, meeting hot women, getting drunk had a lot of appeal. God knows Nora thought he was crazy the way he loved to play that guitar of his, and took care of it, but the kids did enjoy hearing him sing. As the traveling party approached the city, Miles smiled at the idea that the kids could really hear artists, it would be wonderful to see the smiles on their faces. He knew they still held shows at night, some artists from before, these days more new artists. Miles, Bass and Frank had sent riders ahead to arrange for lodging at the Indigo Hotel in downtown. The three old generals had stayed there once during a summit and found it to be both a central location and well maintained.

- Later that night –

Printer's Alley was a block away from their downtown hotel, between Third and Fourth Avenues, running from Union Street to Commerce Street and famous as the home of a nightclub district that dates back to the 1940s. Bass smiled as the party entered The Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar, the sign outside laid claim to the site of the finest country music since 1996. Gone the gruff warrior, Miles looked uncharacteristically joyous, he was once again the brother Bass remembered from when they were 17 and trying to convince girls to part with their clothes. Looking around the room he felt the walls of pictures pulling a smile from his own younger days. Charlotte would enjoy this – he realized he must have mentally drifted away as she squeezed his hand and then motioned her head toward the bar. Watching as she and Nora retrieved drinks for them, Bass joined Miles and Frank as they examined the wall of aging photographs – artists, many long gone, that evoked memories lined the wall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight we welcome a king of country music…" Miles and Bass looked at each other and wondered who was playing, the woman at the hotel hadn't said, only letting them know that it was worth the trip to go tonight. "…a CMA best new artist and later a Grammy award winner for country music, Darius Rucker!" The crowd erupted into cheers, as the band took the stage followed by a tall, graying musical giant. All told the group had six members, a banjo, a set of drums, a young kid with a harmonica and 2 back up guitars to accompany the voice and guitar of the lead. He didn't remember this song that they led off with, but he remembered that gravely southern drawl and grinned before beginning to sway with the music. After the first few words he keyed in on the lyrics and smirked before searching out Charlotte,

"_But you're the kinda girl that's got that something; Dancing to the groove like it just ain't nothing; They ain't never seen nothing quite like you_". Bass loved the sway of those hips and watched as she got into the music, he nearly laughed a few seconds later when she caught a line and staring straight at him mimicked the words, "_Throwing back whiskey straight, no water; Girl there ain't nothing hotter_". Damn but that was for sure, she could make swallowing a drink an x-rated vision. Figuring the song was ideal for dancing he crossed the room and grabbed her up in his arms to sway to the music. Sliding his hands down to her hips he pressed her body to his and whispered, "He's right, there '_ain't nothing hotter_' than you!"

- a block away -

Figuring sufficient time had passed, Claire, Danni and Frankie exited the stairwell and headed toward the door only to be greeted by a rather frustrated looking John and a disappointed Robert. "Are you, by chance going out?" bit out John. Not waiting for a response, "because I think we were all pretty clear that you don't go anywhere without me."

Beaming, Danni grabbed John's arm and pronounced, "Great! I knew you would love this, but Claire was afraid if we told Robert he would say 'No', so it is so awesome that you both want to come and there is no reason to be angry, I would never want to leave you out of the fun!"

Claire started to grumble, but Robert stopped her, "I don't it was Claire's idea to leave us in the dark. Likely it was Stetson here who figured it would be best. Now let's turn around and go back upstairs." Robert grabbed Claire' arm and they started in the direction they had come.

"I guess if Claire is too much of a daddy's girl she can stay behind with the babies, but Danni and I are going," announced Frankie.

Claire looked up at Robert with sad eyes before murmuring, "Couldn't we please go out for a little while? Just one stop, Danni saw a store front with a psychic two doors down. If we could just go there… I promise we can come right home."

Before Robert could reply, Danni had slipped John's grip and was running and laughing toward the door. In hot pursuit, John yelled for Robert to help him and Claire took it as her moment to follow her sister and Frankie, who was only steps behind John.

Danni reached for the door of the Shining Path Psychic Readings just as John grabbed her from behind. Breathless, she chuckled as she proclaimed, "We're here now, so Frankie open the door."

Listening to her command with a smirk, Frankie realized Danni would never be boring. The door had barely opened on the strange party when a tiny elderly Asian woman greeted the strange group of young people, "Welcome, I am Dao Ming. It is wonderful that you have come this evening, you all have much to learn."

Turning on the charm, Frankie responded, "Thank you! The girls and I are excited, but my friends here are a little nervous you know soldiers – not really an open bunch."

The small woman ushered them in to her shop and moments later the party found themselves surrounded by brightly colored swaths of fabric in a room full of candles. The psychic took her seat on a pillow at the far side of a round table and motioned for them to do the same. Grudgingly, John and Robert took seats on the floor pillows, joining Claire, Danni and Frankie who had dropped into seats almost before they were offered.

"With only your birthday," began the serious woman, "…I can tell you much about you and your future. Who shall be first, one of the gentlemen, or perhaps we will see about the twins?"

Waiting she smiled as Claire spoke, "Oh no, I think Robert should be first." Placing a hand over his arm she continued, "His birthday is January 16th, 2024."

Confused by how she knew that, Robert was too surprised to protest and the psychic began to speak, "You are a tiger – not surprising based on your choice of career. The tiger symbolizes such character traits as bravery, competitiveness and unpredictability. Tigers love to be challenged and will accept any challenge if it means protecting a loved one or protecting their honor. It is likely why the young lady looks to you for her safety. You are very intelligent and always on alert, but, as I imagine the young lady knows you are very charming and are well-liked by others. You are trustworthy and you crave adventure. You will need to find a partner who is equally active as you are creative in your passion, and will never bore your partners."

John choked on his laughter at his friends description and almost missed the final piece of the fortune, "As one who's lucky number is 5 you will experience much in your life, you will learn and see through travel and adventure. Your courageous, resourceful nature will allow you to succeed in all that you face and your sensualist nature will make your travels exciting." At that description the girls sat quietly stunned while Frankie clapped Robert on the back and John continued to make fun of his friend.

Peevishly Robert bit out, "You think it is so much fun? John's the real fool here, his birthday is April 1st, 2024."

The slight woman sat for a moment looking at the no longer laughing young man. After a long time staring into his eyes she began almost in a trance, "You're a rabbit. You like humor and cannot bear a dull life. Rabbits are gentle, sensitive, compassionate, people that have a strong memory. Not surprisingly, they are good at creating romantic or interesting spice in their love lives. You're a homebody, you work with speed and efficiency, and do not get angry easily." Robert snorted at that, but the woman continued, "You value family above all else and despite the potential for success in life you will find happiness in the everyday." Danni smiled up at him in admiration of the words applied to her crush, hoping one day she would be a part of that 'everyday' the psychic mentioned.

Hoping to distract Danni from the 'sensitive family man', Frankie threw his own birthday into the ring, "I would love to hear about my animal – my birthday is June 12th, 2028". The attention redirected toward him, Frank waited.

"The horse is a dynamic force and you are most clearly a horse." The woman stated.

Before Frankie could make any sort of crass comment, Robert thrust his elbow deep into the boy's side, forcing Frankie to bend forward in breathless pain. "Men born in the year of the horse like to impress people with their generous ways, they are endowed with many shinning points, but they also have to face the weaknesses in characteristics. You are warm-hearted and easygoing, so you have many friends. This will help you as someday you will be very powerful."

Not willing to allow Frankie to make a statement that could imply something sexual in-front of the girls, John stated, "Claire and Danni are Christmas babies, December 25th, 2028."

The woman smiled understanding the diversion of the attention away from the immature boy. She considered the girls each sitting together and staring up with rapt interest. "You are both the year of the monkey and you both have the same lucky number 2, but you are vastly different people." Pausing to decide a direction for her thoughts, "The monkey is a clever animal. It is usually aligned to a smart person." Pointing to Claire, "Though you are both smart, you have different strengths and weaknesses. Your sister is lively and quick-witted, while you are a talented problem solver with a strong desire for knowledge. You are practical, sensitive, and diplomatic," than pointing to Danni, "… and you are sociable and loving. Surprisingly, you both can be hesitant and fearful of making mistakes." Pausing for a moment the woman considered the two girls again before again gesturing toward Danni, "You are good friend, and very family oriented this will make you beloved as an adult, but it will also mean you are more interested in being emotionally supportive of others; while your sister will use her charm and adaptability in diplomacy. You will each find happiness…" then taking Claire's hand, "… your need for adventure means you will need to find a match that supports you and challenges you." With her other hand she reached out for Danni, "and you my dear would do nicely with either the rabbit or the horse – your compatibility will of course depend entirely on the choices you make – you need a sweet and happy life with one that is considerate, tolerant and understanding."

Uncomfortable with the direction this was taking, John helped a silent Danni to stand and instructed Frankie, "Pay the woman, we need to go before we are caught." Deciding not to argue the point, Frankie dropped 10 large gold pieces in the woman's hand. She smiled up at him as the two soldiers pushed them all toward the door.

Frankie was just through the opening as he crashed headlong into his great grandfather. Thinking quickly he slammed the door shut behind him and speaking too loudly stated, "I thought you were headed out for the night."

Shaking his head, "And I thought I told you to stay in – at least you weren't stupid enough to drag either of the Monroe twins into your idiocy. Come on we are going back to the hotel, we are leaving in the morning to return to Texas."

Waiting behind the closed door Robert looked at John in surprise at the way Frankie covered for them. With any luck, they could get the girls back to their rooms without being caught and this little adventure would be over. Twenty minutes later they turned the girls over to a confused Duncan and crashed into their own beds.


	16. Chapter 16

_Sorry for the delay, I have been swamped at work. I want to say thank you for all of the reviews! I do love reading them. This story only has 1 really long or two slightly shorter chapters left. I wanted to right this partly to see how Charlie, Bass, Miles and Nora are all dealing with the MANY children I gave them... and partly to lay the ground work for the next story that I really wanted to write... it will be a combination of flashbacks to explore how Charlie and Bass fell in love and got married, Miles' feelings about that; how Miles and Nora got together and a look at Danni and Claire at 19 and a VERY mischievous Ross at 17... I, of course, own nothing, but I am having fun borrowing these characters! Thanks for reading - B_

Chapter 16 –

As she sat hidden in the choir loft of St. Paul's Parish, Claire wondered if any of her siblings or uncles felt angry that dad seemed to be grooming her for stepping into his shoes. She knew Danni wouldn't want this role, but Ross worshiped dad and grandpa – he had to feel like this role was his to inherit. It was easy to assume the little ones wouldn't really understand at this point, but someday they would… in the end, she loved that dad and grandpa felt she was up for this, but she wasn't sure she liked it. Continuing to listen as the people poured into the rows below she looked to her left and whispered to Robert, "Why aren't you wearing your uniform? And, I get why I have to hide up here, but couldn't you be downstairs? I mean, I think it's a mistake for them to be here unguarded and if you were down there, at least they would have 1 guard."

Robert angled himself and smiled at her, "Like they told you, the priest said he would get the people to come and talk, but only if the local Militia guard weren't here that's why I am wearing my farm clothes and why you are hiding up here. They want to hear what the people really think, what they really need and what isn't working, and having the Militia elsewhere means more honesty." Lifting up Robert looked over the rail and saw the crowds growing, in the front, off to the side stood the Generals speaking to a priest. "And I doubt either your father or grandfather is in any danger, I would guess they could fight their way out of even the craziest situations. My job is to be up here protecting you, and your job is to be listening to what the people say. Strange thing about learning… the further you go down the road, the more you find out that there is so much more that you never knew existed."

Pondering his comments Claire asked, "Why is this, the first place they are doing a town hall meeting? What's so special about Lexington?"

Shaking his head, Robert responded, "I'm not smart, I try to observe – millions of people can see the same thing, but the one that asks why sees the deeper meaning… and you're asking the wrong why."

Confused, Claire repositioned herself to see better, the local priest welcomed the people and introduced the generals. She watched as her father thanked the people for coming and then he joined Miles in a set of chairs and listened. She watched as they took notes, they never responded – just listened. After more than an hour, Claire turned to Robert, "They've been doing these at most of the stops." It was more of a statement than a question, "So… the question is: why am I attending this one?"

Nodding, he answered her, "You grew up in Philadelphia, the center of stability in the republic, and everything you needed was brought to you. I grew up in the south, it is warm there and food grows easily, we were deep enough into the republic to have order and safety. But being a leader is more than sitting in an office in Philadelphia and making decisions, they know, they need to understand what people need, how to help make the lives of the people better, or the Republic will fall apart. This stop and Nashville are the furthest west we will travel, though both places are well within our borders, they are far removed from everyday contact, so it is most important that you hear the needs of these people."

- an hour later –

A somber Claire descended the steps and was greeted by the priest, thanking him for the use of the choir loft she and Robert exited a side door and made their way to the back courtyard to gather their horses. Approaching Lucky Girl, Claire stroked her mane and waited for her father and grandfather to approach. Moments later she heard the gruff voice of her grandpa call out to her, "Did you and your young man enjoy the picnic?"

Claire grinned before turning to see the angry look on her father's normally loving, features. Clearly Grandpa Miles was enjoying teasing her dad far too much. Their cover story if anyone asked was they had picnicked in the gardens while her father held a meeting. Turning, she bestowed a wide smile and ran up to hug him, "We had a wonderfully romantic time!" she sweetly added as she watched her father cringe and flex his fist. "The gardens were so beautiful."

Miles was enjoying torturing his brother, but figured they had said enough to mislead anyone that might be nearby "Glad to hear it. How about we mount up; we need to meet up with your mother."

Claire did her best Danni imitation, bouncing over and kissing Grandpa Miles' cheek then hugging her father, before calling out, "Robert would you help me mount my horse? It is just so big."

Miles nearly choked on his laughter at her acting and had to hold back tears as Bass pushed the boy aside and tossed his little girl onto the back of the horse. When the young guard indicated he didn't understand the point of the cover story, particularly since the only thing it seemed to be doing was moving him closer to being killed; Miles responded, "Actually, it is improving my disposition better than any alcohol could." Laughing, "Do you see his face? I love it when that moron gets to feel a little of the stress Charlotte put me through." Miles charged off on his horse and Robert circled around to take up the rear point. He listened as General Monroe quizzed his daughter.

"So…" started Bass, "what did you learn?" They had galloped up alongside Miles and he waited for her to respond.

Thinking Claire asked, "Have they all been like that one?"

With pride at her perceptive question Bass replied, "No, some places have fewer issues than others. Clearly based on the stories, Grandpa Miles is going to have to do a check of the garrison leadership."

Bobbing her head, she waited a moment before continuing, "You opened the military school to educate officers, but when they are this far away, how do you control them?"

Miles grinned at her question, "She's a smart one, Bass." Then turning to face her, "Some of the control comes from installing officers we know we can trust, some comes from rotating Militia members to prevent one person from amassing too much power, but mostly it comes from making these kinds of trips – one or both of us, or someone we trust."

With understanding she continued her probe, "After you fix the bullies in the Militia, how will you address the food shortage issue? Clearly the growing season was too wet and the people will suffer in winter."

"That is very kind hearted of you to wonder," added Bass, "we will redirect some of the yield from the Plains states area that we are annexing in the treaty we just negotiated with General Blanchard to help this area. Did you read the treaty I gave you?"

With a widening smile she replied, "Oh, yes! The idea of a shipping company sounds fascinating – all those places it will visit, the things those sailors will see should be incredible!" Then, with substantially less enthusiasm, "but, sending troops to help fight Mexico sounds like we are putting people in a position that they might die and for someone else's fight."

Reaching out, Bass stroked the arm of his soft-hearted little girl, "Soldiers do die in war, but the trouble in Mexico is not 'someone else's fight' as you put it. We have a strong relationship with General Blanchard and Texas. We trade goods, we have common interests, and we act as allies against other nations. We benefit from a strong Texas, so we need Mexico to be defeated by them."

"But… what if the friendship between the Republic and Texas is more a friendship between you and grandpa and General Blanchard? He's old – then what happens when he retires?" Claire wondered aloud.

Grinning in pride, Bass responded, "When Frank retires his grandson Tre will take over. We are agreeing to help Frank and Tre now, then later we will be able to continue our friendship when Tre is in charge." As he finished speaking the small party made their way toward the gate of the Kentucky Horse Park. It was located along the scenic Iron Works Pike ancient colonial and antebellum homes lined the far side of the street. Charlotte, Nora and Duncan had taken the rest of the children here to watch the horses work out. Dismounting, Bass waited for a Militia soldier to take his and Claire's mounts, before the group of four headed inside to join the rest of the family. Moving up the stairs, but wondered if reinstituting the sport of horse racing might be fun, he was certain Danni would get behind the funny hats and fancy dresses women used to wear to the Kentucky Derby at Church Hill downs. As they started down the stands toward the family, he chuckled at the boys as they cheered on the horses that raced around the track. When they were only a row or two away, Bass could hear the older man recounting Charlotte and Nora about the value of a horse from Lexington. "… best horse farms anywhere! Lexington has been known as a major center for Thoroughbred breeding since the late 18th century due to the high calcium content in the soils of the Inner Bluegrass Region, which leads to stronger bones and greater durability in horses. Just watch those horses work out! No one breeds them like we do here."

Deciding to interrupt, Bass stuck out his hand and added, "And that is why we asked you to gather up this exposition to choose from."

Startled the portly man turned and gave a small yelp before responding, "Yes… sir… I mean… General Sir, or would you prefer Mr. President?"

Not wanting to prolong the man's misery, "I would prefer to discuss the horses. Did we find any young colts that might work?"

Charlotte reached up and ran a hand along his stubbled jaw. "How hard was the meeting?"

Kissing her palm Bass replied, "Nothing Miles and I didn't expect; though I think we both hoped it would be better than this. Miles decided we are going to have to stay an extra day or two so he can make some changes… address a few issues."

Realizing that was all she would get in this setting, "The boys are having a great time. Do you two want to tell them or should we all share the surprise?"

The words were no sooner out of her mouth when Nate, Noah, Marcus and Jake came running up and attempted to tackle their fathers while assaulting them with questions. "Did you see that?"; "Those horses are ridiculously fast! Can you ride that fast?" "I want the black one! Can I have it please?"

Bass nearly laughed at the barrage of questions and the obvious excitement the 4 boys shared, but it was Miles that responded, "Actually, you are each getting to pick a horse; and the trainers will help with two days of riding lessons while we are here." The boys erupted with excitement at the news and danced around their fathers cheering, before racing back to the rail to make their choices.

Leaning in to her husband's chest, Charlotte whispered "Hey stallion, can I get a riding lesson later tonight?"

Grunting Miles smacked Bass on the back of the head and grumbled, "Dumbass, needs to keep his hands to himself."

With a hearty chuckle, Charlotte decided to torture her father, "Oh, I'm ok with tying him up for my riding lessons."

Bass nearly doubled over with laughter at the look of horror on Miles' face before choking out, "Serves you right teasing me with that whole 'Claire dating' thing earlier."


End file.
